Analysts Set Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Price Target at $145.00

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $145.00.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Weatherford International from $130.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays boosted 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James raised 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 report on Tuesday, April 16th.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $125.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.71. Weatherford International has a 1 year low of $55.81 and a 1 year high of $129.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 52.88% and a net margin of 8.61%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Benjamin Duster sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.98, for a total value of $1,163,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,801 shares in the company, valued at $1,241,440.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Weatherford International news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 60,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.57, for a total transaction of $6,214,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 146,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,213,915.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Benjamin Duster sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 12,801 shares in the company, valued at $1,241,440.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 82,000 shares of company stock worth $8,612,660. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 123.9% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $941,000 after acquiring an additional 5,763 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 77.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 72,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,583,000 after purchasing an additional 31,838 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 240.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 16,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after purchasing an additional 11,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Weatherford International by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,646,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,742,000 after purchasing an additional 76,058 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.