Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $108.14 and last traded at $104.5640, with a volume of 37970 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $106.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WFRD shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $93.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.25.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.80 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.21.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.49. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.07% and a net margin of 8.76%.The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This is an increase from Weatherford International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 18.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Weatherford International news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total transaction of $10,550,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total transaction of $164,465.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,739.25. The trade was a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 1.8% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,673,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,245,000 after buying an additional 98,663 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,156,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,571,000 after acquiring an additional 281,984 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Weatherford International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,928,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,903,000 after acquiring an additional 66,553 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in Weatherford International by 712.8% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Weatherford International by 43.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,572,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,601,000 after purchasing an additional 476,575 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Company Profile

Weatherford International (NASDAQ: WFRD) is a global oilfield services company specializing in the development, design and manufacturing of equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas drilling, evaluation, completion and production. The company’s core offerings include well construction services such as directional drilling and wellbore positioning, well completion solutions that encompass sand control and zonal isolation technologies, and production enhancement services involving artificial lift systems and well intervention tools.

In addition to its comprehensive service lines, Weatherford provides a range of drilling optimization and reservoir evaluation products.