Weatherford International PLC’s (WFT) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Credit Suisse Group

Weatherford International PLC (NYSE:WFT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at Credit Suisse Group in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. They currently have a $6.00 price target on the oil and gas company’s stock. Credit Suisse Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 34.53% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Weatherford International PLC in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Weatherford International PLC from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $7.00 to $5.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. Deutsche Bank AG restated a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 price target (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Weatherford International PLC in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) lowered shares of Weatherford International PLC from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $7.25 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $6.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International PLC and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $6.52.

Weatherford International PLC (NYSE WFT) opened at 4.46 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $4.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.26. Weatherford International PLC has a 12 month low of $3.39 and a 12 month high of $7.09. The firm’s market cap is $4.40 billion.

Weatherford International PLC (NYSE:WFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Weatherford International PLC had a negative net margin of 53.49% and a negative return on equity of 61.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.28) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Weatherford International PLC will post ($1.00) EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, VP Douglas M. Mills sold 17,500 shares of Weatherford International PLC stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.19, for a total value of $90,825.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 296,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,539,483.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WFT. OppenheimerFunds Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International PLC during the first quarter worth approximately $46,680,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International PLC during the first quarter worth approximately $45,594,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International PLC during the first quarter worth approximately $42,887,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International PLC during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,548,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International PLC by 10.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,956,761 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $325,562,000 after buying an additional 4,621,797 shares during the last quarter.

Weatherford International PLC Company Profile

Weatherford International Ltd. (Weatherford) is a provider of equipment and services used in the drilling, evaluation, completion, production and intervention of oil and natural gas wells. The Company operates four segments: North America, Latin America, Europe/West Africa/the former Soviet Union (FSU) and Middle East/North Africa/Asia.