W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $3.89, but opened at $3.79. W&T Offshore shares last traded at $3.8350, with a volume of 743,058 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Capital set a $4.25 price target on W&T Offshore in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded W&T Offshore from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of W&T Offshore in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.25.

W&T Offshore Trading Down 2.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $579.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.26 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.58.

W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $162.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.46 million. Analysts anticipate that W&T Offshore, Inc. will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W&T Offshore Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. W&T Offshore’s dividend payout ratio is currently -5.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W&T Offshore

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in W&T Offshore by 12.4% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,642 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its holdings in W&T Offshore by 143.4% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 300,035 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 176,751 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in W&T Offshore during the second quarter worth approximately $2,008,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in W&T Offshore during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP lifted its position in shares of W&T Offshore by 61.6% during the 2nd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 102,822 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 39,213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.88% of the company’s stock.

W&T Offshore Company Profile

W&T Offshore, Inc is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company focused primarily on assets in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The company explores for, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from offshore properties.

W&T Offshore’s operations include interests in producing fields and prospective exploration areas across the Gulf of Mexico, including shallow-water and deepwater assets. Its activities cover the full upstream lifecycle, including geological evaluation, drilling, field development, production, and asset management.

Founded in 1983 by Tracy W.