Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Trading 8.5% Higher - Should You Buy?

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 8.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $47.58 and last traded at $47.57. Approximately 423,934 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 1,446,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on WFRD shares. Raymond James lowered shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.63.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $44.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 7.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.04 per share, with a total value of $504,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 25,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,064,074.44. This trade represents a 90.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 59.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,349 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 11,680 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 95,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,818,000 after purchasing an additional 24,637 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 130.2% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,076 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 6,264 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 917,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,723,000 after purchasing an additional 204,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,785,000. Hedge funds and other 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.