Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Receives $144.88 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Buy" from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat 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 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $144.88.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International 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 value of $639,397.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Weatherford International by 246.1% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 27,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 19,575 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 7.3% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at about $233,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 80.8% during the third quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 20,971 shares of the company's stock worth $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 9,372 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD stock traded up $3.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $80.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,717,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 911,263. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58. Weatherford International has a one year low of $77.29 and a one year high of $135.00. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $93.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.70.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 49.11%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Weatherford International's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.