Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Trading Up 5% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) shot up 5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $57.88 and last traded at $57.55. 183,422 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 990,472 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.63.

Weatherford International Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. On average, analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.88%.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,179.94. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. The trade was a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 130.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 190.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

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.