Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $150.75.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WFRD shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,599,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,152,000 after purchasing an additional 53,017 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 2.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,409,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,730,000 after purchasing an additional 182,120 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Weatherford International by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,722,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,240,000 after buying an additional 439,700 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 657,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,566,000 after buying an additional 38,700 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 33.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 631,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,372,000 after acquiring an additional 156,756 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of WFRD opened at $86.97 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $101.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.61. Weatherford International has a 1-year low of $82.16 and a 1-year high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 49.69%. Weatherford International’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 6.81 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 16.18%.

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.