Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $42.12, but opened at $43.61. Weatherford International shares last traded at $42.64, with a volume of 78,216 shares traded.

Specifically, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 25,311 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,074.44. This trade represents a 90.15 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.75.

Weatherford International Price Performance

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $49.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.14. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is 16.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,702,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $551,760,000 after purchasing an additional 270,775 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 295.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $425,894,000 after buying an additional 4,443,823 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,402,833 shares of the company's stock worth $315,375,000 after buying an additional 298,811 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,638,934 shares of the company's stock worth $260,657,000 after acquiring an additional 65,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in Weatherford International by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,777,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,877,000 after acquiring an additional 144,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

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.