Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) Receives $88.56 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $87.90.

Several analysts have issued reports on WFRD shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Friday, October 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Weatherford International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th.

Weatherford International Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $76.96 on Monday. Weatherford International has a fifty-two week low of $36.74 and a fifty-two week high of $86.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $69.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 0.79.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.28% and a net margin of 8.15%.The company’s revenue was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 18.12%.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Weatherford International by 4.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,050,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,104,000 after buying an additional 347,584 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 1.8% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,673,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,245,000 after acquiring an additional 98,663 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 712.8% during the second 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. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 43.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,572,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,601,000 after acquiring an additional 476,575 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,485,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,562,000 after acquiring an additional 29,840 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.