Benjamin Duster Sells 6,000 Shares of Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) Director Benjamin Duster sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.09, for a total value of $516,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $963,088.83. This trade represents a 34.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Weatherford International Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $82.31 on Thursday. Weatherford International PLC has a 1-year low of $52.70 and a 1-year high of $113.15. The company has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $91.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 21.50% and a net margin of 7.66%.The company’s revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 21.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 127.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 83.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at $52,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WFRD. Wall Street Zen lowered Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.56.

About Weatherford International

Weatherford International (NASDAQ: WFRD) is a global oilfield services company specializing in the development, design and manufacturing of equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas drilling, evaluation, completion and production. The company’s core offerings include well construction services such as directional drilling and wellbore positioning, well completion solutions that encompass sand control and zonal isolation technologies, and production enhancement services involving artificial lift systems and well intervention tools.

In addition to its comprehensive service lines, Weatherford provides a range of drilling optimization and reservoir evaluation products.