Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Price Target Lowered to $125.00 at Benchmark

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by analysts at Benchmark from $140.00 to $125.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Benchmark's price target indicates a potential upside of 85.76% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WFRD. Barclays dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.25.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.29. 1,045,108 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,286,293. The company has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. Weatherford International has a fifty-two week low of $60.45 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm's fifty day moving average is $71.36 and its 200 day moving average is $85.52.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $675,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,835.04. This trade represents a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $807,179.94. The trade was a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,702,911 shares of the company's stock worth $551,760,000 after acquiring an additional 270,775 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Weatherford International by 36.7% during 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. Boston Partners lifted its position in Weatherford International by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,777,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,877,000 after purchasing an additional 144,396 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Weatherford International by 3.1% during 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. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International by 551.1% during 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. 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.