Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW) Stake Boosted by Empire Life Investments Inc.

Empire Life Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW - Free Report) by 115.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 178,288 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 95,689 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc. owned 0.34% of Tidewater worth $12,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TDW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Tidewater by 37.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,798,600 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $269,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,804 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Tidewater by 32,536.3% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,080,236 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $149,928,000 after purchasing an additional 2,073,862 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Tidewater by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,805,483 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $130,195,000 after purchasing an additional 31,292 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Tidewater by 1,294.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,064,896 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $75,682,000 after purchasing an additional 988,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Tidewater by 2.6% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 635,763 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $45,183,000 after purchasing an additional 16,102 shares in the last quarter. 95.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tidewater Stock Performance

Shares of TDW traded up $3.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $106.52. 738,598 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 774,317. The stock's fifty day moving average is $93.73 and its 200 day moving average is $76.07. The stock has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.44 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.81. Tidewater Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.61 and a 1-year high of $111.42.

Tidewater (NYSE:TDW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $321.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $312.05 million. Tidewater had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 66.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Tidewater Inc. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tidewater announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 29th that permits the company to buyback $48.60 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 1.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TDW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Johnson Rice initiated 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. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Tidewater from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Tidewater from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Pickering Energy Partners began coverage on shares of Tidewater in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Tidewater from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Quintin Kneen sold 150,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.01, for a total transaction of $16,351,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 501,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,692,279.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Quintin Kneen sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.01, for a total value of $16,351,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 501,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,692,279.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Robotti sold 1,494 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.53, for a total transaction of $160,649.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,854,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $306,901,373. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 266,479 shares of company stock valued at $27,767,870. Insiders own 9.59% of the company's stock.

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.

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