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

Shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $93.79 and last traded at $91.44, with a volume of 1192429 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $93.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WFRD. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $77.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. 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 note on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.00.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $80.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 0.79.

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This is a positive change from Weatherford International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,739.25. This trade represents a 11.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position 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 period. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 712.8% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443,512 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Weatherford International by 43.5% in the third 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,301,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,068,000 after acquiring an additional 57,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 103.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,165,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,772,000 after buying an additional 591,694 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

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.