Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares of Weatherford International hit a new 52-week high of $111.26 (last traded around $110.71) on heavy volume, giving the company a market cap of about $7.89 billion.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS beat of $1.49 vs. $1.02 expected and revenue of $1.15 billion, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275 (annualized yield ~1.0%).
• Analyst views are mixed—some downgrades from Zacks and Weiss but price-target raises from Piper Sandler, Citi and UBS—leaving a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $103.22; meanwhile the CEO sold 100,000 shares for about $10.55M, insiders own 1.6% and institutions hold ~97.2%.

Shares of Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $111.26 and last traded at $110.7070, with a volume of 794636 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $108.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WFRD. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their price target on Weatherford International from $93.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Weatherford International from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.22.

Weatherford International Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.83.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.47. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.31% and a net margin of 9.49%.The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of Weatherford International 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 223.0% in the first 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. grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 129.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 143,703 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,695,000 after purchasing an additional 81,046 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the first quarter valued at $258,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 26.8% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 253 shares in 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.