Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Citigroup

Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) in a report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock.

WFRD has been the topic of several other research reports. Benchmark reissued a buy rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Weatherford International from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a c rating to a b rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $146.11.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Weatherford International stock opened at $124.46 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $9.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.71. Weatherford International has a 12-month low of $55.81 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $118.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.34.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 52.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Weatherford International will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.47, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Weatherford International news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.57, for a total value of $6,214,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 146,895 shares in the company, valued at $15,213,915.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,041,049.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Weatherford International by 189.0% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Weatherford International by 539.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 145.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.