Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) Hits New 12-Month High on Earnings Beat

Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $104.74 and last traded at $104.16, with a volume of 633770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.89.

The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.40. Tidewater had a net margin of 9.62% and a return on equity of 13.37%. The firm had revenue of $321.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $312.05 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 66.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Tidewater declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 29th that allows the company to repurchase $48.60 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to buy up to 1.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on TDW shares. Pickering Energy Partners started coverage on shares of Tidewater in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Tidewater from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Johnson Rice started coverage on shares of Tidewater in a report on Friday, February 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Tidewater from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Tidewater from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Tidewater presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $93.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Samuel R. Rubio sold 19,641 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.36, for a total value of $1,597,991.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 98,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,976,208.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Daniel A. Hudson sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.00, for a total value of $656,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,553,584. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Samuel R. Rubio sold 19,641 shares of Tidewater stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.36, for a total value of $1,597,991.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 98,036 shares in the company, valued at $7,976,208.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,462 shares of company stock worth $3,716,739. 9.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tidewater

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Tidewater by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 374 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Tidewater in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Tidewater by 608.4% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,771 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Tidewater during the first quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC bought a new position in Tidewater in the first quarter valued at about $253,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.13% of the company's stock.

Tidewater Trading Up 13.4 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.20 and a beta of 1.21.

About Tidewater

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.