Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WFRD. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a report 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.88.

Weatherford International Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $90.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.46. The firm has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.60.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 364.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 31.0% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 50.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. 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.