Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock Price Down 13.9% - Here's Why

Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) dropped 13.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $39.78 and last traded at $39.09. Approximately 96,801 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 1,026,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.75.

Weatherford International Trading Up 17.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $58.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International's payout ratio is 14.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Weatherford International news, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,423,835.04. This trade represents a 32.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Depinder Sandhu sold 14,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.41, for a total transaction of $929,740.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $590,517.72. This trade represents a 61.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 87,930 shares of company stock valued at $5,861,718. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 295.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $425,894,000 after purchasing an additional 4,443,823 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $104,287,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at $65,678,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Weatherford International by 181.7% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,303,007 shares of the company's stock worth $93,334,000 after acquiring an additional 840,456 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 132.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 728,266 shares of the company's stock worth $52,166,000 after purchasing an additional 414,528 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.