Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Rating Lowered to “Neutral” at The Goldman Sachs Group

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) was downgraded by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $98.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $132.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 28.79% from the stock’s current price.

WFRD has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Weatherford International currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $140.50.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $76.09 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average is $84.22 and its 200 day moving average is $100.47. Weatherford International has a 52 week low of $75.79 and a 52 week high of $135.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 364.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.