Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Weatherford International from $93.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Weatherford International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.33.

Weatherford International Stock Up 0.1%

Weatherford International stock opened at $86.48 on Monday. Weatherford International has a twelve month low of $36.74 and a twelve month high of $110.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.63. The company has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.49. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 28.07%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Weatherford International’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Weatherford International will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Weatherford International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.55%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In related news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total transaction of $10,550,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 1.8% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,673,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,245,000 after buying an additional 98,663 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Weatherford International by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,156,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,571,000 after acquiring an additional 281,984 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,928,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,903,000 after acquiring an additional 66,553 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 712.8% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443,512 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 43.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,572,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,601,000 after purchasing an additional 476,575 shares in the last quarter. 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.