Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $112.70 and last traded at $112.27, with a volume of 232953 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $108.83.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WFRD. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.33.

Weatherford International Trading Up 0.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $98.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.73.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.47. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 28.31%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is presently 17.21%.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 127.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 83.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

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.