Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Upgraded by UBS Group to “Buy” Rating

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) was upgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $114.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $113.00. UBS Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 36.40% from the company’s current price.

WFRD has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Weatherford International from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.56.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD opened at $83.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.34. The company has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $92.23 and a 200-day moving average of $95.85. Weatherford International has a 52-week low of $52.70 and a 52-week high of $113.15.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.35). Weatherford International had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 21.50%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In related news, Director Benjamin Duster sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.09, for a total transaction of $516,540.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $963,088.83. The trade was a 34.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Neal P. Goldman sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $1,357,440.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,033,945.08. The trade was a 56.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,156,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,571,000 after buying an additional 281,984 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Weatherford International by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,928,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,903,000 after acquiring an additional 66,553 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,760,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,505,000 after acquiring an additional 194,654 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 712.8% in 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 period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 238,154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

About Weatherford International

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.