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

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $147.29.

A number of brokerages have commented on WFRD. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This trade represents a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 107.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 23,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,715,000 after acquiring an additional 12,170 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Weatherford International by 8.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Weatherford International by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,599,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,152,000 after purchasing an additional 53,017 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Weatherford International in the first quarter worth $471,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 5,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Price Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $82.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.60. Weatherford International has a 12 month low of $77.00 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $87.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.24.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Weatherford International’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

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.