Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $96.63.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WFRD shares. Barclays dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James downgraded Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Weatherford International Stock Up 1.1%

WFRD stock opened at $53.03 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.69 and a 200-day moving average of $58.52. Weatherford International has a fifty-two week low of $36.74 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, Director Neal P. Goldman bought 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 25,311 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,074.44. The trade was a 90.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 78.3% in the first quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 1,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Weatherford International in the first quarter worth $3,790,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 10.6% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 138,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,415,000 after purchasing an additional 13,234 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Weatherford International in the first quarter worth $258,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Weatherford International by 129.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 143,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,695,000 after purchasing an additional 81,046 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.