Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Piper Sandler

Key Points

• Piper Sandler upgraded Weatherford International from a "neutral" to an "overweight" rating, raising the target price from $62.00 to $73.00, indicating a potential upside of 28.39% based on the current stock price.
• Weatherford's latest quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $1.87, significantly surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.97, although revenue decreased by 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 97.23% of Weatherford International's stock, indicating strong institutional backing and confidence in the company's future performance.

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Piper Sandler currently has $73.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $62.00.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on WFRD. Barclays lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $69.00) on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.63.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD traded down $1.74 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $56.79. The company had a trading volume of 480,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,367,757. The stock has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.76. Weatherford International has a 12 month low of $36.74 and a 12 month high of $118.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $51.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.12.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for 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 business's revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. Weatherford International's payout ratio is 15.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 36.8% in the second quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 40,829 shares of the company's stock worth $2,054,000 after buying an additional 10,994 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 105.0% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 19,106 shares of the company's stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 9,788 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the second quarter worth $209,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 3.0% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 747,962 shares of the company's stock worth $37,630,000 after buying an additional 21,558 shares during the period. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 21.9% in the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 72,097 shares of the company's stock worth $3,627,000 after buying an additional 12,948 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Weatherford International

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.