Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Given “Buy” Rating at Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $155.00 price target on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $138.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. They set an overweight rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Weatherford International from a c rating to a b rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $143.75.

Weatherford International Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $127.97 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Weatherford International has a 52-week low of $55.81 and a 52-week high of $129.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $113.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.80. The company has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.73.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 52.88%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Weatherford International’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.04, for a total transaction of $1,078,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 18,211 shares in the company, valued at $1,785,406.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Weatherford International news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 40,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.91, for a total value of $4,001,404.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $12,365,629.29. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $1,785,406.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 145,455 shares of company stock worth $14,863,464 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 23.6% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 10,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 1.1% during the first quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 11,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 145.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.