Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $108.14 and last traded at $104.5640, with a volume of 37970 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $106.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $93.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.25.

Weatherford International Trading Down 1.7%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $90.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Weatherford International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.55%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total value of $10,550,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were 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 $1,210,739.25. This represents a 11.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 127.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 83.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 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.