Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock Price Up 5% – Still a Buy?

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)’s share price rose 5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $57.88 and last traded at $57.55. Approximately 183,422 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 990,472 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WFRD. Barclays cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.63.

Weatherford International Stock Up 3.2 %

The company has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. Sell-side analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,179.94. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at approximately $571,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at $546,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 154.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,813,000 after buying an additional 23,685 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 500,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,815,000 after buying an additional 43,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 59.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,663,000 after buying an additional 11,680 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.