Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Down 3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) fell 3% during mid-day trading on Friday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $110.00 to $95.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Weatherford International traded as low as $66.23 and last traded at $66.49. 669,107 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 899,928 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.56.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WFRD. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,764.80. This represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter worth $571,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,584,000. Merewether Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 38.8% in the second quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 549,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,323,000 after purchasing an additional 153,800 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $77,372,000 after buying an additional 156,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 1,138.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 32,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,728,000 after buying an additional 29,530 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly 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. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

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.