Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Receives $144.88 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $144.88.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WFRD. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,764.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 364.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 50.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $77.50 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $90.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.42. Weatherford International has a fifty-two week low of $77.00 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.60.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Weatherford International will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

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.