Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Receives $147.29 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six 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 target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $147.29.

WFRD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James cut their price target on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

Weatherford International Stock Up 3.5 %

WFRD stock traded up $2.89 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $85.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 849,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 913,114. Weatherford International has a 52-week low of $77.00 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.60.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Weatherford International by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,599,657 shares of the company's stock worth $877,152,000 after buying an additional 53,017 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,409,020 shares of the company's stock worth $739,730,000 after acquiring an additional 182,120 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Weatherford International by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $303,419,000 after purchasing an additional 959,783 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 19.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,722,281 shares of the company's stock worth $315,240,000 after purchasing an additional 439,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,484 shares of the company's stock worth $192,555,000 after buying an additional 68,553 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.