Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Up 5.2% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) shot up 5.2% during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $126.00 and last traded at $124.18. 242,464 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 812,216 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.09.

The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 56.68% and a net margin of 8.12%. Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WFRD. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Weatherford International from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday. TheStreet upgraded Weatherford International from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Weatherford International news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.57, for a total value of $6,214,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 146,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,213,915.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Weatherford International news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.57, for a total value of $6,214,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 146,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,213,915.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 40,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.91, for a total value of $4,001,404.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,365,629.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,455 shares of company stock worth $13,628,764 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 2.5% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 20,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,401,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 14.5% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 77,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,916,000 after purchasing an additional 9,799 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 6.3% in the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 2.9% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 17,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 669.1% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 14,112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $112.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.33. The company has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

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.