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

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading 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.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on 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 cut their price target on Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James cut their price target on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on 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, Weatherford International has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.75.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings 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 lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Trading Down 4.7 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.51 and a 200 day moving average of $110.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.99. The company has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 49.11% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.