Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) Receives $94.70 Average Price Target from Analysts

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $93.2222.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $81.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $77.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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.

Weatherford International Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $89.12 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.57. Weatherford International has a 1 year low of $36.74 and a 1 year high of $91.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 0.79.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 28.28%. Weatherford International’s revenue was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total value of $164,465.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Weatherford International by 223.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 122,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,568,000 after acquiring an additional 84,684 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 129.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 143,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,695,000 after acquiring an additional 81,046 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 144.3% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 196.8% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.