Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Trading 4% Higher – Here’s Why

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) shares traded up 4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $72.39 and last traded at $72.25. 167,647 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 899,699 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.25.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

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 capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.38.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.04%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. The trade was a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Weatherford International by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in Weatherford International by 1,516.2% in the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.