Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Sets New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $96.16 and last traded at $95.99, with a volume of 1830980 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.39.

The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.49. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 28.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a positive change from Weatherford International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WFRD shares. Zacks Research lowered Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Friday, October 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $77.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.00.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total value of $164,465.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,739.25. The trade was a 11.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,673,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,245,000 after buying an additional 98,663 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 712.8% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443,512 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,572,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,601,000 after acquiring an additional 476,575 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 4.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,301,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,068,000 after acquiring an additional 57,008 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 103.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,165,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,772,000 after acquiring an additional 591,694 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $82.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Weatherford International Company Profile

Weatherford International (NASDAQ: WFRD) is a global oilfield services company specializing in the development, design and manufacturing of equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas drilling, evaluation, completion and production. The company’s core offerings include well construction services such as directional drilling and wellbore positioning, well completion solutions that encompass sand control and zonal isolation technologies, and production enhancement services involving artificial lift systems and well intervention tools.

In addition to its comprehensive service lines, Weatherford provides a range of drilling optimization and reservoir evaluation products.