Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $52.08 and last traded at $51.64, with a volume of 239679 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $56.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WFRD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.63.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.82 and a 200 day moving average of $78.88.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

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

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Weatherford International by 295.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,894,000 after acquiring an additional 4,443,823 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at $104,287,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Weatherford International by 551.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,553 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,419,000 after acquiring an additional 959,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at $65,678,000. 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.