Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $135.00 to $160.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Weatherford International traded as high as $129.70 and last traded at $128.69, with a volume of 737496 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.65.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WFRD. TheStreet upgraded Weatherford International from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $130.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.89.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In related news, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.47, for a total value of $1,234,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,041,049.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Weatherford International news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 40,455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.91, for a total value of $4,001,404.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,365,629.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.47, for a total transaction of $1,234,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,041,049.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 145,455 shares of company stock valued at $14,863,464 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Weatherford International by 23.6% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 10,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 1.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Weatherford International by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Weatherford International by 145.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.75.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 52.88% and a net margin of 8.61%. Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.