Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)’s share price reached a new 52-week high 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $123.65.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $130.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. TheStreet raised shares of Weatherford International from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Weatherford International news, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 $4,041,049.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 40,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.91, for a total transaction of $4,001,404.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,365,629.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 145,455 shares of company stock valued at $14,863,464. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at $243,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 30.4% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at $773,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at $973,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 123.9% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $941,000 after buying an additional 5,763 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Trading Up 3.5 %

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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $113.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.80. The firm has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.73.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 52.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.73 EPS 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.