Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Given New $105.00 Price Target at Barclays

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $147.00 to $105.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $135.25.

Weatherford International Price Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $69.86 on Wednesday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.47. Weatherford International has a 1-year low of $69.30 and a 1-year high of $135.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released 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. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Weatherford International will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $932,764.80. The trade was a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Weatherford International by 31.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 36.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.