Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Hits New 12-Month Low on Insider Selling

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $61.46 and last traded at $60.59, with a volume of 1493 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $62.95.

Specifically, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFRD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.25.

Weatherford International Trading Down 3.2 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 36.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,419,000 after purchasing an additional 959,783 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,555,000 after purchasing an additional 68,553 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 551.1% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,553 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 30.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,443,000 after purchasing an additional 310,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 917,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,723,000 after purchasing an additional 204,317 shares in the last quarter. 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.