Weatherford International PLC (WFRD) – What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

Shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $115.57.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $118.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Weatherford International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th.

Weatherford International Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $88.60 on Thursday. Weatherford International has a one year low of $68.49 and a one year high of $113.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $85.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.81. The stock has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.05.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 22.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Analysts predict that Weatherford International will post 5.57 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, December 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.2750 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jacqueline Mutschler sold 4,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 29,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,632,916.50. The trade was a 12.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 3,125.3% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 71,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,846,000 after buying an additional 69,507 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 11.9% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 156,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,758,000 after buying an additional 16,605 shares in the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the second quarter worth approximately $15,269,000. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 13.8% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 171,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,218,000 after buying an additional 20,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 19.3% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 89,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,323,000 after acquiring an additional 14,537 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Weatherford International

Weatherford International plc is an energy services company that provides equipment, technology and services to the oil and natural gas industry. Its offerings support the life cycle of a well, from drilling and formation evaluation to completion, production, intervention and abandonment.

The company’s product and service portfolio includes drilling systems, well logging and evaluation tools, completion equipment, artificial-lift systems, production optimization technologies, well intervention services and digital solutions.