Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) Stock Price Up 5% – Still a Buy?

Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW)’s share price shot up 5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $74.74 and last traded at $74.60. Approximately 476,031 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 736,606 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Tidewater from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Tidewater in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Tidewater from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.33.

Tidewater Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.76. The company has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 3.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The oil and gas company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $360.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $358.71 million. Tidewater had a return on equity of 4.47% and a net margin of 19.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Tidewater Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tidewater news, Director Kenneth Traub sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $990,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 63,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,288,579. This represents a 13.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.08, for a total value of $1,486,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,272,513.32. This trade represents a 31.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Tidewater by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Kendall Capital Management raised its position in Tidewater by 0.9% during the third quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 16,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tidewater by 4.5% in the second quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tidewater by 5.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Tidewater by 34.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 781 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 95.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tidewater Company Profile

Tidewater Inc. provides offshore support vessels and related marine services to the energy industry. Its vessels transport personnel, equipment and supplies between shore bases and offshore facilities, and support activities such as anchor handling, towing, platform operations and offshore construction. The company operates a diverse fleet that includes platform supply vessels, anchor-handling tug supply vessels, crew boats and other specialized vessels. These services help customers carry out offshore exploration, development and production, as well as certain renewable-energy and subsea projects.