Bank of America Cuts Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Price Target to $130.00

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) had its target price trimmed by Bank of America from $145.00 to $130.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

WFRD has been the topic of several other reports. Raymond James dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $146.88.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $91.76 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.58. Weatherford International has a 1-year low of $82.16 and a 1-year high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 49.69% and a net margin of 9.19%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Weatherford International will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the company’s 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 31.0% during the 2nd 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. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 11,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 50.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 23.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 174 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.