Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock Position Increased by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRDFree Report) by 44.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,100 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $7,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Weatherford International by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 74,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,306,000 after buying an additional 9,705 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Weatherford International by 287.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after buying an additional 18,330 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,842,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,986,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,309,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on WFRD shares. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. TheStreet raised shares of Weatherford International from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $130.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $151.88.

View Our Latest Report on WFRD

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.47, for a total transaction of $1,234,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,041,049.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD traded up $0.32 on Friday, hitting $123.32. The stock had a trading volume of 586,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 797,634. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $63.41 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $119.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.60. The company has a market capitalization of $9.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.66.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRDGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 52.88%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Profile

(Free Report)

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD)

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