Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Weatherford International from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.25.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $102.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $87.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.06. Weatherford International has a fifty-two week low of $36.74 and a fifty-two week high of $106.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 0.79.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.49. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 28.07%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Weatherford International will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Weatherford International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 18.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Weatherford International news, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 15,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,739.25. This trade represents a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total value of $10,550,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 127.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.