Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $93.00.

Several research analysts have weighed in on TDW shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Tidewater from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Johnson Rice started coverage on Tidewater in a report on Friday, February 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Pickering Energy Partners started coverage on Tidewater in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Tidewater from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Tidewater from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th.

Tidewater Price Performance

Shares of Tidewater stock traded down $1.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $96.89. 694,440 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 757,461. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Tidewater has a fifty-two week low of $39.41 and a fifty-two week high of $101.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.95 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $82.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.63.

Tidewater (NYSE:TDW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $302.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.46 million. Tidewater had a return on equity of 13.37% and a net margin of 9.62%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 62.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Tidewater will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tidewater announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 29th that permits the company to buyback $48.60 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 1.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Tidewater

In related news, CFO Samuel R. Rubio sold 19,641 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.36, for a total transaction of $1,597,991.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 98,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,976,208.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO David E. Darling sold 17,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.08, for a total transaction of $1,462,747.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 85,959 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,055,514.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Samuel R. Rubio sold 19,641 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.36, for a total transaction of $1,597,991.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 98,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,976,208.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,462 shares of company stock worth $3,716,739 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.59% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Tidewater

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Tidewater by 71.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 374 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in Tidewater by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,376 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Tidewater by 36.0% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,021 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Tidewater by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. now owns 15,448 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its stake in Tidewater by 6.9% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,794 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. 95.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.