102,229 Shares in Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW) Bought by Moerus Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Moerus Capital Management LLC acquired 102,229 shares of Tidewater Inc. valued at approximately $4.32 million, making it the 9th largest position in their investment portfolio.
• Several hedge funds have increased their holdings in Tidewater, with Robotti Robert boosting their position by 8.5% to own nearly 2.86 million shares worth about $120.75 million.
• Tidewater recently initiated a stock buyback program allowing the company to repurchase up to $500 million in shares, indicating a belief that their stock is currently undervalued.

Moerus Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 102,229 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $4,321,000. Tidewater comprises about 1.9% of Moerus Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Moerus Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Tidewater as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robotti Robert grew its stake in Tidewater by 8.5% during the first quarter. Robotti Robert now owns 2,856,631 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $120,750,000 after buying an additional 223,651 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Tidewater by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,306,313 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $126,180,000 after buying an additional 390,814 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Tidewater by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,582,328 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $86,569,000 after buying an additional 238,170 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Tidewater by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,551,729 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $84,888,000 after buying an additional 286,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Tidewater by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 867,875 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $47,473,000 after buying an additional 101,159 shares during the last quarter. 95.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tidewater

In other news, Director Robert Robotti bought 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $42.05 per share, for a total transaction of $630,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,234,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,979,941.85. This trade represents a 0.68% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel A. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.56, for a total transaction of $575,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 75,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,373,754.16. This trade represents a 11.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 25,560 shares of company stock worth $1,074,858. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Tidewater Trading Up 0.4%

TDW stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 507,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,059,298. Tidewater Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.17 and a 52 week high of $91.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $50.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.18.

Tidewater (NYSE:TDW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.95. Tidewater had a net margin of 14.62% and a return on equity of 16.74%. The firm had revenue of $341.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.28 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Tidewater Inc. will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Tidewater announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, August 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 21.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TDW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Tidewater from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BTIG Research cut shares of Tidewater from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Tidewater from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.00.

Tidewater Company Profile

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.