Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Short Interest Up 67.0% in September

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,870,000 shares, a growth of 67.0% from the September 15th total of 1,120,000 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 954,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFRD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 31.0% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 8.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 1.1% during the first quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 11,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 50.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Weatherford International by 23.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ WFRD traded down $2.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $92.19. The stock had a trading volume of 32,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,842. The company has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.58. Weatherford International has a twelve month low of $82.16 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $97.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.18.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 49.69% and a net margin of 9.19%. Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.