Weatherford International Shares Hit By News Of $140 Million SEC Penalty

Shares of

Weatherford International PlcWFT

took a hit Tuesday morning, as did the company's pocketbook. It was announced Tuesday that the oilfield service company would be paying a penalty of $140 million to settle charges from the SEC stemming from allegations that it used deceptive accounting practices to inflate earnings.

Shares of Weatherford were down just over 4 percent at $5.28 in mid-day trading. The stock has been trading near the bottom of its 52-week range, down 54 percent from its one-year high of $11.49.

Weatherford consented to pay the SEC's penalty without admitting or denying the findings that allegedly prove it fraudulently lowered its year-end provision for income taxes each year so that its earnings would better align with its own projections and Wall Street estimates.

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