Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

WFRD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Weatherford International from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Weatherford International from $77.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Weatherford International from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.50.

Weatherford International Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $105.51 on Friday. Weatherford International has a fifty-two week low of $36.74 and a fifty-two week high of $106.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $84.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 0.79.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 28.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Weatherford International will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This is a boost from Weatherford International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total transaction of $164,465.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,739.25. This trade represents a 11.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the second quarter worth $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 83.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at $35,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Company Profile

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.