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

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $93.25.

WFRD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Weatherford International from $93.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $101.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.65. Weatherford International has a 12 month low of $36.74 and a 12 month high of $106.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $87.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.21.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.49. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.07% and a net margin of 8.76%.The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Weatherford International will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Weatherford International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Weatherford International news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total value of $10,550,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total value of $164,465.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,210,739.25. This trade represents a 11.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 1.8% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,673,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,245,000 after acquiring an additional 98,663 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,928,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,903,000 after purchasing an additional 66,553 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 712.8% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443,512 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Weatherford International by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,572,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,601,000 after purchasing an additional 476,575 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,539,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,505,000 after buying an additional 238,154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

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.