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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WFRD. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.63.

Weatherford International Stock Down 2.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.50 and its 200 day moving average is $75.24.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.88%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 130.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 190.4% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 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.