Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $65.25, but opened at $68.75. Weatherford International shares last traded at $68.00, with a volume of 218,930 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WFRD. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler started coverage on Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.88.

Weatherford International Stock Up 2.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.45. The stock has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60.

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%. Equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. The trade was a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,419,000 after acquiring an additional 959,783 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Weatherford International by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,555,000 after buying an additional 68,553 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 551.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,356,000 after buying an additional 1,219,553 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,443,000 after acquiring an additional 310,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 917,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,723,000 after acquiring an additional 204,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

About Weatherford International

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.