Barclays Cuts Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Price Target to $154.00

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $165.00 to $154.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.88.

Weatherford International Stock Down 7.1 %

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $85.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $95.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.26. Weatherford International has a 52-week low of $82.16 and a 52-week high of $135.00.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,599,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $877,152,000 after acquiring an additional 53,017 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,409,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $739,730,000 after purchasing an additional 182,120 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,722,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,240,000 after buying an additional 439,700 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Weatherford International by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 657,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,566,000 after buying an additional 38,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 631,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,372,000 after buying an additional 156,756 shares during the period. 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.