Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Given New $142.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) had its target price cut by Evercore ISI from $149.00 to $142.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on WFRD. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays cut their price target on Weatherford International from $165.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.75.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $77.31 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Weatherford International has a 12 month low of $77.29 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 49.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,599,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $877,152,000 after purchasing an additional 53,017 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 2.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,409,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,730,000 after buying an additional 182,120 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in Weatherford International by 19.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,722,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,240,000 after buying an additional 439,700 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Weatherford International by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 657,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,566,000 after acquiring an additional 38,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 631,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,372,000 after acquiring an additional 156,756 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

About Weatherford International

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.