J.P. Morgan Says Situation At Weatherford "Not Getting Any Better" (WFT)

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is out with a research report on Weatherford WFT following the company's earnings report. It has a Neutral rating on shares. It has a $24 price target on shares. In a note to clients, J.P. Morgan writes, "Weatherford reported 1Q11 EPS of $0.12 (adjusting for severance, exits, and Columbia tax), vs. our $0.20 and consensus $0.18 estimate. Management guided 1Q11 earnings to $0.18 on MENA disruptions and weather, but Eastern Hemi results were significantly worse than expected – especially compared with HAL's and SLB's results. Overall, North America was quite solid, as expected, with margins holding steady and revenue up in line with the US land oil count. However, International was much worse; operating income falling $83mm q-q (49% down) sequentially, $66mm of which was Eastern Hemi. The company now expects 2Q11 EPS of $0.15-$0.17 a reduction from the current $0.20 consensus estimate." Shares of WFT are down 66 cents to $20.47, a loss of 3.1% today.