Weatherford International’s (WFRD) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $155.00 price objective on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $165.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Seven investment 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.75.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $77.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58. Weatherford International has a one year low of $77.29 and a one year high of $135.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $93.88 and its 200-day moving average is $110.16.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 49.11% and a net margin of 9.65%. The firm 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 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Weatherford International will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 246.1% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 27,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 19,575 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its position in Weatherford International by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter worth $233,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 80.8% in the third quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 20,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,781,000 after acquiring an additional 9,372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.