W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.31, but opened at $3.56. W&T Offshore shares last traded at $3.5040, with a volume of 1,551,601 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of W&T Offshore in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of W&T Offshore from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of W&T Offshore in a research report on Friday, April 17th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

W&T Offshore Trading Down 4.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $509.57 million, a P/E ratio of -3.61 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.99.

W&T Offshore Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. W&T Offshore’s dividend payout ratio is -4.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W&T Offshore by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,828,361 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,428,000 after purchasing an additional 19,283 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W&T Offshore by 24.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,071,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,761,000 after purchasing an additional 598,614 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in W&T Offshore by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,680,643 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,369,000 after buying an additional 14,426 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in W&T Offshore by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,540,588 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,141,000 after buying an additional 508,050 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in W&T Offshore by 381.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,400,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,912,000 after buying an additional 1,901,213 shares in the last quarter. 42.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About W&T Offshore

W&T Offshore, Inc is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused primarily on offshore operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The company acquires, develops and produces crude oil and natural gas reserves, operating a portfolio of producing properties that encompasses both shallow-water and deepwater assets. W&T Offshore leverages its technical expertise and asset management capabilities to optimize field development and production efficiency across its portfolio.

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, W&T Offshore has built a track record of disciplined growth through strategic acquisitions and targeted exploration activities.