UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at UBS Group from $82.00 to $94.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential downside of 5.37% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Weatherford International from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Friday, October 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.33.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ WFRD traded down $0.63 during trading on Thursday, reaching $99.34. 237,107 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,284,552. Weatherford International has a fifty-two week low of $36.74 and a fifty-two week high of $101.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.49. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 29.08% and a net margin of 8.76%.The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total transaction of $164,465.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,739.25. This represents a 11.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 83.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 69.8% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Weatherford International

Weatherford International (NASDAQ: WFRD) is a global oilfield services company specializing in the development, design and manufacturing of equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas drilling, evaluation, completion and production. The company’s core offerings include well construction services such as directional drilling and wellbore positioning, well completion solutions that encompass sand control and zonal isolation technologies, and production enhancement services involving artificial lift systems and well intervention tools.

In addition to its comprehensive service lines, Weatherford provides a range of drilling optimization and reservoir evaluation products.