Brokerages Set Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Target Price at $121.25

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $109.88.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark lowered 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 note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,179.94. The trade was a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $8,272,507.23. The trade was a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD traded up $1.49 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,070,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,297,066. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Weatherford International has a 52 week low of $60.45 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.61.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Weatherford International's 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.