Zacks Research Upgrades Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) from "hold" to "strong-buy"; overall analyst mix is one Strong Buy, seven Buy and three Hold with an average target price of $98.33 (average rating: "Moderate Buy").
• Weatherford beat quarterly estimates with EPS $1.91 vs. $1.42 expected and revenue of $1.29 billion, has a market cap of $6.2 billion and a trailing P/E of 14.58, and analysts expect about 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares at $105.50 (≈$10.55M); insiders own 2.09% of the stock while hedge funds and other institutional investors hold roughly 97.23%.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

WFRD has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on Weatherford International from $93.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Weatherford International from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.33.

Weatherford International Stock Up 0.1%

WFRD stock opened at $86.48 on Monday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $94.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.78. Weatherford International has a 12 month low of $36.74 and a 12 month high of $110.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.49. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 28.07%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Weatherford International will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total value of $10,550,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 223.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 122,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,568,000 after buying an additional 84,684 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 129.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 143,703 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,695,000 after acquiring an additional 81,046 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 1st quarter worth about $258,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,495 shares of the company's stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 27,168 shares of the company's stock worth $1,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,466 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Weatherford International

Weatherford International NASDAQ: WFRD is a global oilfield services company specializing in the development, design and manufacturing of equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas drilling, evaluation, completion and production. The company’s core offerings include well construction services such as directional drilling and wellbore positioning, well completion solutions that encompass sand control and zonal isolation technologies, and production enhancement services involving artificial lift systems and well intervention tools.

In addition to its comprehensive service lines, Weatherford provides a range of drilling optimization and reservoir evaluation products.

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