Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $121.25.

WFRD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at $932,764.80. This trade represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at $807,179.94. The trade was a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 364.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the third quarter worth $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 1,516.2% in the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 598 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Stock Down 2.7 %

WFRD stock traded down $1.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $70.19. 790,962 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 656,777. The firm's 50 day moving average is $78.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.39. Weatherford International has a 1 year low of $66.23 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share 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 46.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

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.