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

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $155.00 price objective on the stock.

WFRD has been the topic of several other research reports. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $165.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.75.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $77.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Weatherford International has a 12-month low of $77.29 and a 12-month high of $135.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $93.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.16.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 49.11% and a net margin of 9.65%. Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the first quarter worth $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the third quarter worth $34,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 36.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is 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.