Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) Receives $113.56 Consensus PT from Analysts

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $113.5556.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Zacks Research cut shares of Weatherford International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $113.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $94.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Weatherford International has a twelve month low of $54.69 and a twelve month high of $113.15.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Weatherford International news, Director Benjamin Duster sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.09, for a total value of $516,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $963,088.83. This represents a 34.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jacqueline C. Mutschler sold 4,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total value of $370,507.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 29,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,632,916.50. This represents a 12.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 26,094 shares of company stock valued at $2,244,487 over the last three months. 2.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Weatherford International by 127.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 83.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Weatherford International in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.