Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock Rating Lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $98.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $132.00. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 28.79% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup cut their target price on Weatherford International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $140.50.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.5 %

WFRD traded down $1.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $76.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 568,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 898,552. Weatherford International has a twelve month low of $75.79 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.96, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.58. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $84.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Weatherford International will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This trade represents a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Weatherford International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 36.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company's stock worth $303,419,000 after buying an additional 959,783 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 68,553 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 551.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,553 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,101 shares of the company's stock worth $112,443,000 after acquiring an additional 310,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 657,953 shares of the company's stock worth $80,566,000 after purchasing an additional 38,700 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.