Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Should You Sell?

Shares of Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $35.50 and last traded at $36.11, with a volume of 1021163 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TDW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI downgraded Tidewater from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $112.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Pickering Energy Partners downgraded Tidewater from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Tidewater has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.50.

Tidewater Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.85 and a 200 day moving average of $48.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 1.00.

Tidewater (NYSE:TDW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.34. Tidewater had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 13.92%. The company had revenue of $333.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. Tidewater's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Tidewater Inc. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Robotti acquired 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $40.11 per share, with a total value of $1,002,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,208,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $88,589,753.70. This trade represents a 1.14 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tidewater

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TDW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Tidewater by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,486,286 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $300,155,000 after acquiring an additional 56,919 shares during the period. Robotti Robert raised its stake in shares of Tidewater by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Robotti Robert now owns 2,632,980 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $144,050,000 after purchasing an additional 28,083 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Tidewater by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,306,313 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $126,180,000 after buying an additional 390,814 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Tidewater by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,582,328 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $86,569,000 after buying an additional 238,170 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Tidewater by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,551,729 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $84,888,000 after buying an additional 286,097 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.13% of the company's stock.

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.