Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Trading Down 3.8% – Should You Sell?

Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD)’s share price fell 3.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $74.50 and last traded at $73.81. 69,146 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 1,167,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WFRD. Melius began coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $108.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Weatherford International from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Friday, October 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.90.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.8%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $69.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.79.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.03). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.28% and a net margin of 8.15%.The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is currently 18.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weatherford International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Penn Capital Management Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 8.1% during the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 324,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,297,000 after purchasing an additional 24,240 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in Weatherford International by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 17,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in Weatherford International by 106.9% in the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 472,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,355,000 after purchasing an additional 244,305 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth $260,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 13,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $917,000 after buying an additional 2,142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.