Piper Sandler Initiates Coverage on Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock.

WFRD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. 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. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.13.

Weatherford International Stock Down 1.9 %

WFRD stock opened at $68.56 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Weatherford International has a 1-year low of $68.33 and a 1-year high of $135.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.25.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. Weatherford International’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This trade represents a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 94.2% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 175,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,892,000 after buying an additional 85,080 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 63.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 461,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,007,000 after acquiring an additional 179,064 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 39.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 2,022 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter worth about $571,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 131.7% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 13,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 7,823 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.