Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Weatherford International has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 10 analysts: seven recommend buying, two recommend holding, and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $114.25, versus a reported opening price of $94.52.
• The company’s latest quarterly results were mixed: revenue of $1.10 billion exceeded estimates, but EPS of $0.55 fell short of the $0.90 consensus, while revenue declined 8.2% year over year.
• Insiders sold shares worth approximately $2.24 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 97.23% of the stock. Weatherford also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, representing a 1.2% annualized yield.

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $114.25.

WFRD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised Weatherford International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $113.00 to $114.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Weatherford International from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research cut Weatherford International from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, Director Neal P. Goldman sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $1,357,440.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,187 shares in the company, valued at $1,033,945.08. The trade was a 56.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Benjamin Duster sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.09, for a total transaction of $516,540.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,187 shares in the company, valued at $963,088.83. This represents a 34.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 26,094 shares of company stock worth $2,244,487 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 223.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 122,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,568,000 after purchasing an additional 84,684 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 129.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 143,703 shares of the company's stock worth $7,695,000 after purchasing an additional 81,046 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the first quarter worth $258,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 26.8% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,764 shares of the company's stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 83.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ WFRD opened at $94.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.90. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $86.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.54. Weatherford International has a twelve month low of $60.23 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.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 21.50% and a net margin of 7.66%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.70%.

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.

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