Analysts Set Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) PT at $103.75

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $103.75.

WFRD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $97.00 to $73.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th.

Weatherford International Price Performance

NASDAQ WFRD opened at $44.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.69, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. Weatherford International has a 12 month low of $36.74 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $53.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, EVP Depinder Sandhu sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.41, for a total value of $929,740.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,892 shares in the company, valued at $590,517.72. This represents a 61.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,835.04. This represents a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 87,930 shares of company stock valued at $5,861,718. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,702,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,760,000 after purchasing an additional 270,775 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Weatherford International by 295.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,894,000 after buying an additional 4,443,823 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,402,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,375,000 after acquiring an additional 298,811 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,638,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,657,000 after purchasing an additional 65,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,777,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,877,000 after buying an additional 144,396 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.