Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $113.5556.

WFRD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th.

Weatherford International Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $92.70 on Friday. Weatherford International has a twelve month low of $54.69 and a twelve month high of $113.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $88.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.02. The firm has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.87.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.35). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 21.50% and a net margin of 7.66%.The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 21.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman sold 16,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $1,357,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,033,945.08. This trade represents a 56.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Benjamin Duster sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.09, for a total value of $516,540.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,187 shares in the company, valued at $963,088.83. The trade was a 34.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,094 shares of company stock worth $2,244,487. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised 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 buying an additional 281,984 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,928,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,903,000 after buying an additional 66,553 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 12.4% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,760,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $166,505,000 after buying an additional 194,654 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in Weatherford International by 712.8% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Weatherford International by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,539,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,505,000 after acquiring an additional 238,154 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.