Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $83.32, but opened at $87.69. Weatherford International shares last traded at $90.42, with a volume of 274,082 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Weatherford International from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Weatherford International from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.78.

Weatherford International Stock Up 8.8%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.57 and its 200-day moving average is $95.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 2.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.86.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.31% and a net margin of 9.49%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 1,040.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,244,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,392,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135,338 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its position in Weatherford International by 77.6% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 537,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,092,000 after acquiring an additional 234,989 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth $10,966,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Weatherford International by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,615,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at $1,389,000. 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.