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

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $59.12 and last traded at $59.44, with a volume of 383849 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WFRD. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their price target on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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 research note on Friday, December 13th. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.63.

Weatherford International Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.62 and a 200 day moving average of $81.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares in the company, valued at $807,179.94. The trade was a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,272,507.23. The trade was a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 295.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,894,000 after purchasing an additional 4,443,823 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth $104,287,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 551.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,356,000 after buying an additional 1,219,553 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,419,000 after buying an additional 959,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth about $65,678,000. 97.23% of the stock is 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.