Zazove Associates LLC Has $46,000 Holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Zazove Associates LLC lowered its position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 57.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 467 shares of the company’s stock after selling 635 shares during the quarter. Zazove Associates LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $46,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Huntington National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter worth about $30,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $7,306,000 after purchasing an additional 9,705 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 287.1% in the fourth 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Weatherford International by 1,564.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 281,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,398,000 after acquiring an additional 264,284 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at about $738,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WFRD shares. Raymond James increased their target price on Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. TheStreet raised shares of Weatherford International from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Weatherford International presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD traded down $3.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.41. The stock had a trading volume of 783,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 817,590. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $111.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.33. Weatherford International plc has a fifty-two week low of $55.81 and a fifty-two week high of $127.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The company has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54 and a beta of 0.73.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 56.68%. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.57, for a total value of $6,214,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 146,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,213,915.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.57, for a total transaction of $6,214,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 146,895 shares in the company, valued at $15,213,915.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $1,078,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 18,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,785,406.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 135,455 shares of company stock valued at $13,628,764. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

About Weatherford International

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.