Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.00.

Several brokerages have recently commented on TDW. BTIG Research downgraded Tidewater from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Tidewater from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Tidewater from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Tidewater Stock Performance

TDW opened at $56.91 on Friday. Tidewater has a 1-year low of $31.17 and a 1-year high of $91.40. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 1.08. The company's fifty day moving average price is $48.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Tidewater (NYSE:TDW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $317.28 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Tidewater will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Tidewater

In other news, EVP Daniel A. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the firm's 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 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 through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Robotti acquired 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $42.05 per share, with a total value of $630,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,234,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $93,979,941.85. The trade was a 0.68% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 25,560 shares of company stock worth $1,074,858. Insiders own 8.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tidewater

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TDW. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Tidewater in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,347,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Tidewater by 477.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,668 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Tidewater by 2.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 283,950 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $12,003,000 after acquiring an additional 7,837 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tidewater by 94,555.6% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 8,510 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Tidewater by 14.3% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 3,983 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the period. 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.

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