Weatherford International’s (WFRD) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $155.00 price target on the stock.

WFRD has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Weatherford International from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Weatherford International from $130.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James upped their price target on Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Weatherford International from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $153.88.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $117.38 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $120.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.34. Weatherford International has a 52-week low of $78.53 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The firm has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 49.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth $89,762,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 19.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,722,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,240,000 after purchasing an additional 439,700 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 5,525.3% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 359,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 353,177 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the first quarter worth $24,527,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,284,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,675,000 after purchasing an additional 191,855 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.