Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $75.23 and last traded at $75.80, with a volume of 29965 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WFRD. Citigroup dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America cut their price target on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.50.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. Weatherford International’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of Weatherford International 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at $932,764.80. The trade was 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 link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 364.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.