Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Given Buy Rating at Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $155.00 price objective on the stock.

WFRD has been the topic of several other reports. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup cut their target price on Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $165.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Seven 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, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $144.88.

Weatherford International Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of WFRD opened at $80.35 on Thursday. Weatherford International has a 12-month low of $77.29 and a 12-month high of $135.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $93.33 and its 200 day moving average is $109.70.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 49.11%. The business 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 earned $1.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Weatherford International will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the business’s 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners boosted its position in Weatherford International by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,722,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,240,000 after acquiring an additional 439,700 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Weatherford International in the second quarter worth about $51,287,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 5,525.3% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 359,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 353,177 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 89.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 612,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,969,000 after buying an additional 288,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,951,000. Hedge funds and other 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.