Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $135.00 to $160.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Weatherford International traded as high as $129.70 and last traded at $128.69, with a volume of 737496 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $123.65.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on WFRD. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. TheStreet raised Weatherford International from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Weatherford International from $130.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $136.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 40,455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.91, for a total value of $4,001,404.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,365,629.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Weatherford International news, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.47, for a total transaction of $1,234,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at $4,041,049.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 40,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.91, for a total value of $4,001,404.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,365,629.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 145,455 shares of company stock valued at $14,863,464 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,587,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 74,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,653,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 20,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 77,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,916,000 after purchasing an additional 9,799 shares during the period. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 6.3% in the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Trading Up 3.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $113.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 52.88% and a net margin of 8.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

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.