The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $83.00 to $107.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.50% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on WFRD. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Weatherford International from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.50.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $94.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $93.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 0.78. Weatherford International has a 52 week low of $36.74 and a 52 week high of $110.57.

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

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total value of $10,550,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in Weatherford International by 712.8% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443,512 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 1,040.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,244,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,338 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Weatherford International by 1,005.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,056,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,148,000 after purchasing an additional 960,832 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,542,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Weatherford International by 1,096.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 855,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,971,000 after buying an additional 784,237 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.