Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Weatherford International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $137.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.00.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $81.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.73. Weatherford International has a 1-year low of $52.33 and a 1-year high of $113.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.86.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.47. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 28.31% and a net margin of 9.49%.The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 127.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 83.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Weatherford International

Weatherford International (NASDAQ: WFRD) is a global oilfield services company specializing in the development, design and manufacturing of equipment and technologies for oil and natural gas drilling, evaluation, completion and production. The company’s core offerings include well construction services such as directional drilling and wellbore positioning, well completion solutions that encompass sand control and zonal isolation technologies, and production enhancement services involving artificial lift systems and well intervention tools.

In addition to its comprehensive service lines, Weatherford provides a range of drilling optimization and reservoir evaluation products.