Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock Price Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) dropped 2.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $89.10 and last traded at $89.21. Approximately 142,048 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 884,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WFRD. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $165.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.88.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.93 and a 200-day moving average of $111.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.08). The company 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 49.69% and a net margin of 9.19%. Weatherford International’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were 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 is available at this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Weatherford International by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,599,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,152,000 after purchasing an additional 53,017 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,409,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $739,730,000 after buying an additional 182,120 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,722,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,240,000 after acquiring an additional 439,700 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 657,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,566,000 after acquiring an additional 38,700 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 33.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 631,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,372,000 after acquiring an additional 156,756 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Company Profile

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.