Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Weatherford International was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from hold to buy, adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop for the stock.
• Recent analyst moves also included price target increases from Citigroup and Barclays, while MarketBeat’s data shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a target price of $110.33.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $1.49 EPS versus the $1.02 estimate and revenue of $1.15 billion, while institutional ownership remains very high at 97.23%.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

WFRD has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Weatherford International from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $111.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Weatherford International from $83.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.33.

Weatherford International Trading Up 0.0%

WFRD opened at $102.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.87. Weatherford International has a 12 month low of $42.75 and a 12 month high of $112.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $97.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.17.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.31% and a net margin of 9.49%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 712.8% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,812,000 after buying an additional 1,443,512 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Weatherford International by 1,040.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,244,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,392,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135,338 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,399,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 1,096.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 855,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,971,000 after acquiring an additional 784,237 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 154.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,159,192 shares of the company's stock worth $79,324,000 after purchasing an additional 703,401 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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