Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Reaches New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) shares reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $46.30 and last traded at $46.79, with a volume of 562070 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFRD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.75.

Weatherford International Trading Down 16.3 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. Research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 14.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,179.94. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $1,311,381.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,899 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,361.49. This trade represents a 52.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 4.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 402.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 324,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,555,000 after buying an additional 259,924 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 223.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 26,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,253,000 after acquiring an additional 18,326 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Weatherford International by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 52,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,432,000 after acquiring an additional 11,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.