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

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) shares 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.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $150.75.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Boston Partners grew its position 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 buying an additional 439,700 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,287,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 5,525.3% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 359,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,501,000 after buying an additional 353,177 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 89.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 612,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,969,000 after buying an additional 288,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,951,000. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.93. The stock has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its 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). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 49.69%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

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