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

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $121.25.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

Weatherford International Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $63.84 on Tuesday. Weatherford International has a 52-week low of $60.45 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 8.97, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.67.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares in the company, 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. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 12.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 12.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $861,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 29.4% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 1,017 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 36.9% during 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 during the period. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 1,516.2% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Company Profile

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.