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

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $151.88.

WFRD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $130.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Weatherford International from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Weatherford International news, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.47, for a total value of $1,234,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at $4,041,049.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Weatherford International during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Weatherford International during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 189.0% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Weatherford International during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $122.45 on Monday. Weatherford International has a 1 year low of $63.41 and a 1 year high of $129.70. The company has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $119.38 and a 200-day moving average of $109.17.

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

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.