Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Rating Reiterated by Benchmark

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Benchmark in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $155.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 25.56% from the stock’s previous close.

WFRD has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $138.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Weatherford International from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $131.00.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD stock traded up $5.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $123.45. The company had a trading volume of 724,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,892. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.73. Weatherford International has a one year low of $55.81 and a one year high of $127.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.16.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.12% and a return on equity of 56.68%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Weatherford International news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 40,455 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.91, for a total transaction of $4,001,404.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,365,629.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Benjamin Duster sold 12,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.98, for a total transaction of $1,163,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,241,440.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 40,455 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.91, for a total value of $4,001,404.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,365,629.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,455 shares of company stock valued at $13,628,764. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $114,430,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,762,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 1,261.1% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 381,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,425,000 after purchasing an additional 353,100 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 101.1% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 656,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,309,000 after purchasing an additional 330,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 1,564.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 281,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,398,000 after purchasing an additional 264,284 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.