Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $155.00 to $130.00. The stock had previously closed at $87.12, but opened at $85.13. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Weatherford International shares last traded at $84.45, with a volume of 83,409 shares traded.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays raised their price target on Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SCP Investment LP purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at about $360,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $497,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,309,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 189.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at $7,670,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Down 3.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.11.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.18%.

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.