W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded W&T Offshore to “buy” from “hold”, though the broader analyst consensus remains “hold” with a $4.25 price target.
• W&T Offshore exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $167.1 million in revenue and adjusted EPS of $0.01 versus the expected loss of $0.06. Production, adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow also improved year over year.
• Institutional interest increased, with hedge funds and other institutions owning 42.88% of the stock; however, the company still faces a GAAP net loss, share dilution, insider selling, and potential production disruptions.

W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WTI. Roth Capital set a $4.25 target price on W&T Offshore in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of W&T Offshore in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $4.25.

W&T Offshore Stock Up 0.5%

WTI stock opened at $4.05 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3.82 and a 200 day moving average of $3.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $611.31 million, a PE ratio of -11.91 and a beta of 0.35. W&T Offshore has a 52 week low of $1.50 and a 52 week high of $5.08.

W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $167.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.97 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that W&T Offshore will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W&T Offshore

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTI. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in W&T Offshore during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,065,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of W&T Offshore in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,592,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of W&T Offshore in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,353,000. Algert Global LLC grew its position in shares of W&T Offshore by 185.8% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 1,589,137 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,006,000 after buying an additional 1,033,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of W&T Offshore during the first quarter worth about $2,205,000. 42.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting W&T Offshore

Here are the key news stories impacting W&T Offshore this week:

• Positive Sentiment: W&T reported third-quarter revenue of $167.1 million, above the $145.0 million consensus estimate and up 31% year over year. Adjusted EPS was $0.01 versus analysts’ expected loss of $0.06. W&T Offshore earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Production reached 38.2 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, exceeding the company’s guidance, while third-quarter Adjusted EBITDA increased 30% year over year to $51.1 million. Free cash flow was $33.2 million, compared with negative free cash flow in the prior-year quarter. W&T Offshore third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Liquidity improved to $234.7 million, cash rose to $191.3 million and net debt declined 20% sequentially, reducing net debt to 0.9 times trailing twelve-month Adjusted EBITDA. The conversion of its credit facility to a reserve-based structure also provides potential borrowing capacity of up to $100 million. W&T Offshore liquidity and credit facility update
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared another $0.01 quarterly dividend, maintaining its 12-quarter record of shareholder distributions. W&T Offshore dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Higher crude prices, supported by falling inventories and reports of possible U.S. military options involving Iran, could benefit W&T’s realized oil revenue. However, geopolitical developments also increase commodity-price volatility and are not company-specific. Oil forecast and geopolitical risks
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the adjusted profit, W&T posted a GAAP net loss of $13.6 million, or $0.09 per share, partly reflecting derivative losses and higher expenses. The company also issued 3.6 million shares through its ATM program, creating dilution for existing shareholders. W&T Offshore earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders recorded eight sales and no purchases over the past six months, while surety litigation remains unresolved and fourth-quarter production faces temporary hurricane and facility-turnaround disruptions.

W&T Offshore Company Profile

W&T Offshore, Inc is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company focused on 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 have included assets in the federal and state waters of the Gulf of Mexico, spanning shelf and deepwater areas. Its activities include acquiring exploration and production interests, drilling and completing wells, and managing offshore production and related infrastructure.

Founded in 1983 by Tracy W.

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