Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) had its target price raised by analysts at Citigroup from $93.00 to $115.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.12% from the company’s current price.

WFRD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Weatherford International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.25.

Weatherford International Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ WFRD traded up $0.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $101.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 537,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,259,070. Weatherford International has a fifty-two week low of $36.74 and a fifty-two week high of $106.41. The company has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.91.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total value of $164,465.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,210,739.25. The trade was a 11.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total value of $10,550,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 786,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,564,000 after purchasing an additional 50,514 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 807,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,214,000 after purchasing an additional 116,181 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,158,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,670,000 after buying an additional 101,035 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth about $333,000. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,871,000. 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.