Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $121.25.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WFRD. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

Weatherford International Stock Down 3.6 %

WFRD stock opened at $72.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.74. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.13, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Weatherford International has a twelve month low of $66.23 and a twelve month high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,179.94. The trade was a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 364.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 36.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 1,516.2% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.