Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $91.75 and last traded at $92.0750, with a volume of 84965 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Weatherford International in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Friday, October 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $77.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $111.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.00.

Weatherford International Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $79.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.57. The firm has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.79.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.03). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.28% and a net margin of 8.15%.The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP Kristin Ruzicka sold 2,129 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total transaction of $164,465.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,210,739.25. This trade represents a 11.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in Weatherford International by 712.8% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,646,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443,512 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 1,005.3% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,056,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,148,000 after purchasing an additional 960,832 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,542,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Weatherford International by 154.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,159,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,324,000 after purchasing an additional 703,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 1,084.6% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 686,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,513,000 after acquiring an additional 628,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Company Profile

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.