Fearnley Fonds Upgrades Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Tidewater has been upgraded to a "hold" rating by Fearnley Fonds, while other analysts have varied their ratings, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $69.00.
• The company announced a share buyback plan allowing it to repurchase $500 million worth of its outstanding shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• Tidewater reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $1.23, significantly beating analyst expectations and showing year-over-year revenue growth of 0.6%.

Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Tidewater (NYSE:TDW - Free Report) to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Tidewater from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. BTIG Research downgraded Tidewater from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Tidewater from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.00.

Tidewater Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TDW traded down $1.20 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,387,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 630,781. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $55.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.44. Tidewater has a fifty-two week low of $31.17 and a fifty-two week high of $79.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Tidewater (NYSE:TDW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.95. The business had revenue of $341.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.28 million. Tidewater had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 14.62%.The business's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Tidewater has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Tidewater will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Tidewater declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, August 4th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 21.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel A. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president owned 75,986 shares in the company, valued at $4,373,754.16. The trade was a 11.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tidewater

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TDW. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Tidewater by 2,321.4% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 678 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in Tidewater in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Tidewater in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Tidewater by 4,245.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 869 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Tidewater by 2,510.5% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 992 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 954 shares during the period. 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.