Analysts Set Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) PT at $140.50

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $121.25.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $67.10 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.97 and a 200 day moving average of $98.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Weatherford International has a 12 month low of $66.23 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,764.80. This trade represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at $571,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,584,000. Merewether Investment Management LP lifted its position in Weatherford International by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 549,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,323,000 after buying an additional 153,800 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 1,138.4% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 32,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,728,000 after buying an additional 29,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 33.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 631,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,372,000 after acquiring an additional 156,756 shares in 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.