Robotti Robert Buys 223,651 Shares of Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW)

Key Points

• Robotti Robert increased its holdings in Tidewater Inc. by 8.5%, making it the largest position in its portfolio, now owning approximately 2.86 million shares valued at $120.75 million.
• Institutional ownership in Tidewater is high, with 95.13% of the stock held by institutional investors, including significant increases from firms like Price T Rowe Associates and Dimensional Fund Advisors.
• Tidewater has announced a share repurchase plan of up to $500 million, indicating that management believes the stock is undervalued, and reported strong earnings exceeding analyst expectations for the latest quarter.

Robotti Robert raised its stake in shares of Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW - Free Report) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,856,631 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 223,651 shares during the period. Tidewater comprises about 24.2% of Robotti Robert's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Robotti Robert owned 5.77% of Tidewater worth $120,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Tidewater in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Tidewater by 2,510.5% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 992 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tidewater by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,128 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Tidewater by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,075 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tidewater by 477.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,668 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on TDW shares. BTIG Research cut Tidewater from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Tidewater from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Tidewater from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Tidewater Stock Performance

NYSE TDW traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.05. 507,563 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,059,298. The company has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 1.08. Tidewater Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.17 and a 12-month high of $91.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.24 and a 200 day moving average of $45.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Tidewater (NYSE:TDW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $341.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.28 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Tidewater Inc. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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.