Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $106.75.

WFRD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup dropped 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $54.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.06, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01. Weatherford International has a 52 week low of $51.24 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.26.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Weatherford International will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.88%.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $1,311,381.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,361.49. The trade was a 52.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 190.4% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

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.