Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on WFRD. Weiss Ratings cut Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Weatherford International from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised Weatherford International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $113.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.56.

Weatherford International Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $92.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.34. The company has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.87. Weatherford International has a 52 week low of $54.69 and a 52 week high of $113.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.04.

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

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, Director Jacqueline C. Mutschler sold 4,094 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total transaction of $370,507.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 29,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,632,916.50. This trade represents a 12.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Neal P. Goldman sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $1,357,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,187 shares in the company, valued at $1,033,945.08. This trade represents a 56.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,094 shares of company stock valued at $2,244,487. Insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Weatherford International during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 6.3% in the second quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 64,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,797 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. bought a new stake in Weatherford International in the second quarter worth approximately $739,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 9.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 89.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 18,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,785,000 after purchasing an additional 8,925 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

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.