Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) Hits New 12-Month High at $93.15

Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $93.15 and last traded at $92.32, with a volume of 29804 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Tidewater from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Tidewater from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Tidewater from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Johnson Rice initiated coverage on Tidewater in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners initiated coverage on shares of Tidewater in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tidewater presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.00.

Tidewater Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.36 and a beta of 1.17.

Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.03). Tidewater had a net margin of 9.62% and a return on equity of 13.37%. The company had revenue of $302.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.46 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 62.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Tidewater Inc. will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tidewater declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 29th that allows the company to buyback $48.60 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 1.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Samuel R. Rubio sold 19,641 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.36, for a total value of $1,597,991.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 98,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,976,208.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Tidewater news, COO David E. Darling sold 17,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.08, for a total transaction of $1,462,747.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 85,959 shares in the company, valued at $7,055,514.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Samuel R. Rubio sold 19,641 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.36, for a total value of $1,597,991.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 98,036 shares in the company, valued at $7,976,208.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,462 shares of company stock valued at $3,716,739 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Tidewater

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Tidewater by 71.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 374 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in Tidewater in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tidewater during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Tidewater by 36.0% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,021 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Tidewater by 2,732.0% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,416 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.13% of the company’s stock.

About Tidewater

Tidewater Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore support vessels and marine support services to the offshore energy industry through the operation of a fleet of marine service vessels worldwide. It provides services in support of offshore oil and gas exploration, field development, and production, as well as windfarm development and maintenance, including towing of and anchor handling for mobile offshore drilling units; transporting supplies and personnel necessary to sustain drilling, workover, and production activities; offshore construction, and seismic and subsea support; geotechnical survey support for windfarm construction; and various specialized services, such as pipe and cable laying.