Citigroup Cuts Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Price Target to $130.00

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) had its price target cut by Citigroup from $155.00 to $130.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

WFRD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Benchmark restated a buy rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $150.75.

Weatherford International Price Performance

WFRD opened at $85.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.93. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.61. Weatherford International has a 1 year low of $82.16 and a 1 year high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Weatherford International will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Weatherford International by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 11,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 50.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in Weatherford International by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.