Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Weatherford International has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 10 analysts: seven buys, two holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $114.50, above the reported $85.08 share price.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.55, missing the $0.90 analyst estimate, while revenue of $1.10 billion exceeded expectations. Revenue declined 8.2% year over year.
• Weatherford paid a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, equivalent to a $1.10 annualized payout and a 1.3% yield; institutional investors own 97.23% of the stock.

Shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $114.50.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WFRD. Wall Street Zen downgraded Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $151.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

Weatherford International Stock Up 1.1%

WFRD opened at $85.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.34. The firm's fifty day moving average is $88.90 and its 200 day moving average is $93.87. Weatherford International has a fifty-two week low of $60.84 and a fifty-two week high of $113.15.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 21.50%. Weatherford International's revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.2750 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is 21.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Benjamin Duster, IV sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $963,088.83. The trade was a 34.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jacqueline C. Mutschler sold 4,094 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total value of $370,507.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,632,916.50. The trade was a 12.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 26,094 shares of company stock worth $2,244,487 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 89,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,323,000 after acquiring an additional 14,537 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Weatherford International in the second quarter worth $172,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Weatherford International by 72.0% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Weatherford International by 3,125.3% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 71,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,846,000 after purchasing an additional 69,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International by 11.9% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 156,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,758,000 after purchasing an additional 16,605 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Company Profile

Weatherford International plc NASDAQ: WFRD is an energy services company that provides equipment, technology and services to the oil and natural gas industry. Its offerings support the exploration, drilling, completion, production and intervention of onshore and offshore wells.

The company's portfolio includes drilling and well-construction systems, formation evaluation tools, well-completion equipment, production optimization technologies, artificial-lift systems and well-intervention services.

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