Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Receives $121.25 Average Target Price from Analysts

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $121.25.

Several analysts recently commented on WFRD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $70.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.64. Weatherford International has a 12 month low of $66.23 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.13.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Weatherford International will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,179.94. The trade was a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This represents a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 36.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,419,000 after buying an additional 959,783 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Weatherford International by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,555,000 after buying an additional 68,553 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Weatherford International by 551.1% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,356,000 after buying an additional 1,219,553 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 30.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,443,000 after buying an additional 310,259 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 6.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 657,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,566,000 after buying an additional 38,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

About Weatherford International

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.