Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Trading Up 2.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) traded up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $115.00 to $155.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. Weatherford International traded as high as $121.07 and last traded at $120.99. 58,025 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 822,428 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.33.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on WFRD. TheStreet upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.56.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total value of $1,078,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 18,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,785,406.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Weatherford International news, Director Benjamin Duster sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.98, for a total value of $1,163,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,241,440.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total transaction of $1,078,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 18,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,785,406.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,455 shares of company stock worth $13,628,764 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 1.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,785,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,254,000 after buying an additional 120,401 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 309.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,226,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $609,179,000 after acquiring an additional 4,706,078 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Weatherford International by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,928,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,351,000 after purchasing an additional 197,337 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,282,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,127,000 after buying an additional 76,872 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 6.6% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,792,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,373,000 after buying an additional 111,712 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Up 4.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $104.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.08.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.48. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 56.68% and a net margin of 8.12%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Company Profile

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention.