Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $77.24 and last traded at $78.18, with a volume of 226103 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WFRD. Raymond James dropped their target price on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned 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 $144.88.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.93.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share 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 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 last year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at $932,764.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Hawaiian Bank bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,653,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 669.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,872,000 after buying an additional 14,112 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 79.7% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 11,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,383,000 after acquiring an additional 5,315 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Weatherford International by 107.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 23,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,715,000 after acquiring an additional 12,170 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 2.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,409,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $739,730,000 after acquiring an additional 182,120 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

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.