UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) had its price target upped by stock analysts at UBS Group from $94.00 to $105.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.49% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on WFRD. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $83.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Weatherford International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.56.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD stock opened at $94.18 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.73. Weatherford International has a fifty-two week low of $36.74 and a fifty-two week high of $110.57. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.49. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 28.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Weatherford International will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.50, for a total value of $10,550,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Weatherford International by 20.3% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 326,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,369,000 after purchasing an additional 55,183 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Weatherford International by 270.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 19,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14,505 shares during the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 110.8% during the 2nd quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 708,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,629,000 after purchasing an additional 372,192 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,014,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 303,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,792,000 after buying an additional 17,330 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.