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

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $115.00 to $110.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Weatherford International traded as low as $76.39 and last traded at $76.77, with a volume of 58640 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $77.63.

WFRD has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America cut 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. Evercore ISI cut their price target 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. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Six equities research 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the first quarter worth approximately $2,132,000. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 74.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Weatherford International by 238.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 4,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $364,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $84.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.18. The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. 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 46.25% 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.