Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $96.63.

Several analysts have commented on WFRD shares. Raymond James lowered shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup dropped 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $49.99 on Thursday. Weatherford International has a one year low of $36.74 and a one year high of $135.00. The company has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.37 and a 200-day moving average of $64.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. Equities research analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's payout ratio is 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, Director Neal P. Goldman acquired 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Weatherford International by 190.4% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 546.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 595 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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