Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 189 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,492 shares of the company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 130.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 643.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 11,606.3% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Weatherford International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 21,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,835.04. This trade represents a 32.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $807,179.94. This represents a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $53.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.03. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $51.24 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. On average, analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.88%.

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.