Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Trading Up 4.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Weatherford International's stock rose 4.6% to $59.50, despite a significant drop in trading volume (67% less than average), indicating investor interest amidst price fluctuations.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Weatherford International, with price targets ranging from $70.00 to $97.63, reflecting strong growth expectations.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.87, significantly surpassing analyst expectations, along with a revenue of $1.20 billion, indicating robust financial performance despite a year-over-year revenue decline.

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) rose 4.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $60.11 and last traded at $59.50. Approximately 458,613 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 1,373,870 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $69.00) on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays cut their price target on Weatherford International from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Weatherford International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $62.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.63.

Weatherford International Trading Down 4.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.42, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.03.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 34.87% and a net margin of 9.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. Weatherford International's payout ratio is presently 15.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,050,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,104,000 after buying an additional 347,584 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 295.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company's stock worth $425,894,000 after purchasing an additional 4,443,823 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 7.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 298,811 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,638,934 shares of the company's stock worth $260,657,000 after purchasing an additional 65,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,485,746 shares of the company's stock worth $79,562,000 after purchasing an additional 29,840 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.