Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $107.63.

Several research analysts recently commented on WFRD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD traded down $1.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.10. 717,305 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,025,644. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01. The company has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 7.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. Weatherford International has a 52-week low of $51.24 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.88.

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Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. On average, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $1,311,381.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,361.49. The trade was a 52.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth $73,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at about $338,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,077,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,074,000. Finally, Michels Family Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $485,000. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

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.