Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Coverage Initiated at Melius Research

Key Points

• Analysts at Melius Research have initiated coverage of Weatherford International, assigning a "buy" rating and a price target of $108.00, indicating a potential upside of 93.53% from the current stock price.
• Weatherford's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.87, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.90, despite a revenue decline of 14.3% year-over-year.
• The stock has received a mixed response from other analysts, with nine maintaining "buy" ratings and an average price target of $99.70.

Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on WFRD. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Weatherford International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up from $69.00) on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.70.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD stock traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $61.98. 944,117 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,307,881. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50 day moving average is $54.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.47. Weatherford International has a 1 year low of $36.74 and a 1 year high of $111.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 34.87% and a net margin of 9.35%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the second quarter worth approximately $796,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the second quarter valued at $81,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 27.7% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 34,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,734,000 after acquiring an additional 7,473 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 77.1% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 4,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 5.2% in the second quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 40,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weatherford International Company Profile

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention.