Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Trading Up 4% – Still a Buy?

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)’s stock price shot up 4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $72.39 and last traded at $72.25. 167,647 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 899,699 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFRD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.25.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $79.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. The trade was a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 36.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in Weatherford International by 20.7% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 10.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 26.7% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.