Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock Rating Lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $98.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $132.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on WFRD. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target 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 objective on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $140.50.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $76.09 on Friday. Weatherford International has a 52-week low of $75.79 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $84.22 and its 200 day moving average is $100.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during 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 last year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given 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 1.31%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, 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 hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $571,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Weatherford International in the second quarter worth $20,584,000. Merewether Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 38.8% in the second quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 549,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,323,000 after acquiring an additional 153,800 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Weatherford International by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 631,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,372,000 after purchasing an additional 156,756 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 1,138.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 32,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 29,530 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

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.