Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Down 3% After Analyst Downgrade

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) dropped 3% on Friday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $110.00 to $95.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Weatherford International traded as low as $66.23 and last traded at $66.49. Approximately 669,107 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 899,928 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.56.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on WFRD. Barclays cut their price target on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.25.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the 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 $932,764.80. This represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 25.7% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 97,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,890,000 after buying an additional 19,853 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 2.9% during the second quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 27,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,359,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 187.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 46,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,701,000 after acquiring an additional 30,338 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 3.3% in the second quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 25,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,077,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.1 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

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.