Brokerages Set Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) Target Price at $94.70

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $94.70.

Several research firms recently weighed in on WFRD. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on Weatherford International from $81.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Weatherford International in a report on Friday, October 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total value of $164,465.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,739.25. This represents a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Weatherford International by 0.9% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 21,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 0.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 33,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 69.8% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $77.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.45 and a 200 day moving average of $64.34. Weatherford International has a 52-week low of $36.74 and a 52-week high of $82.26.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 28.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Weatherford International will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 18.12%.

About Weatherford International

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.