Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Reaches New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $154.00 to $147.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Weatherford International traded as low as $79.90 and last traded at $80.36, with a volume of 95074 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.16.

WFRD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Raymond James decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $144.88.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,653,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 669.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,872,000 after buying an additional 14,112 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 79.7% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 11,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,383,000 after buying an additional 5,315 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 107.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 23,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,715,000 after buying an additional 12,170 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 2.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 182,120 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Trading Up 3.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $93.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.86. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 49.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. 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.