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

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) shares reached a new 52-week low on Thursday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $149.00 to $142.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform 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.

Several other research firms have also commented on WFRD. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James lowered their price objective 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. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $165.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $145.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Weatherford International by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 8.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 1.1% during the first quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 11,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 50.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Weatherford International by 23.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Down 4.3 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during 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 49.11%. Weatherford International’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 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.