Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Hits New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $115.00 to $110.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Weatherford International traded as low as $76.39 and last traded at $76.77, with a volume of 58640 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $77.63.

WFRD has been the topic of several other research reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of 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 reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.57.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This trade represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 36.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,419,000 after acquiring an additional 959,783 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,555,000 after buying an additional 68,553 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 551.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,356,000 after buying an additional 1,219,553 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Weatherford International by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,443,000 after buying an additional 310,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 657,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,566,000 after purchasing an additional 38,700 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weatherford International Trading Up 0.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $85.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.58.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. Weatherford International’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

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.