Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Trading 4% Higher – Here’s Why

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) shares shot up 4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $72.39 and last traded at $72.25. 167,647 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 899,699 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WFRD. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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, Piper Sandler started coverage on Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.25.

Weatherford International Trading Up 3.1 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.38. The stock has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,764.80. This represents a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.