Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $65.25, but opened at $68.75. Weatherford International shares last traded at $68.00, with a volume of 218,930 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFRD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock 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 report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays dropped 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, December 18th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.88.

Weatherford International Trading Up 2.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $71.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.80.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $8,272,507.23. The trade was a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,179.94. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 130.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 364.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

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.