Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $96.63.

WFRD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 25,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,074.44. The trade was a 90.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International by 4.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,050,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,104,000 after buying an additional 347,584 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 295.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,894,000 after purchasing an additional 4,443,823 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,402,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,375,000 after purchasing an additional 298,811 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,638,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,657,000 after buying an additional 65,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,777,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,877,000 after buying an additional 144,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $54.18 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.02. The company has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Weatherford International has a 12-month low of $36.74 and a 12-month high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 35.88%. On average, equities analysts expect that Weatherford International will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.00%.

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.