Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $147.29.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WFRD shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reduced 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

Weatherford International Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ WFRD opened at $82.54 on Thursday. Weatherford International has a 12 month low of $77.00 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $86.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.00.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at $932,764.80. This represents a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 31.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 8.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 50.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 20.7% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted 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 worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. 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.