Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Receives $107.63 Average PT from Brokerages

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $107.63.

WFRD has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD opened at $53.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. Weatherford International has a fifty-two week low of $51.24 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.09 and a 200 day moving average of $74.97.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 14.88%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at approximately $571,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at $546,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 154.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,813,000 after buying an additional 23,685 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 500,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,815,000 after buying an additional 43,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 59.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,663,000 after buying an additional 11,680 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.