W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• W&T Offshore shares gapped down at the open, falling from a prior close of $4.07 to an opening price of $3.86 and last trading around $3.7790.
• Analyst sentiment was mixed, but the overall rating remains Hold; Zacks raised several future earnings estimates, while Wall Street Zen and Zacks both downgraded the stock to Hold and Weiss kept a Sell rating.
• Weak oil prices and ongoing losses remain a concern, as spot crude fell to multi-week lows and the company is still expected to post negative EPS in multiple future periods despite recent revenue beating estimates.

W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $4.07, but opened at $3.86. W&T Offshore shares last traded at $3.7790, with a volume of 964,262 shares traded.

W&T Offshore News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting W&T Offshore this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised earnings estimates across several periods for W&T Offshore, including Q2 2026, Q3 2026, Q4 2026, Q2 2027, Q4 2027, FY2027, Q1 2028, and FY2028, suggesting analysts see a somewhat better earnings path than before. W&T Offshore estimate updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research kept a Hold rating on the stock, so the revisions were not strong enough to change the firm’s overall stance on WTI. W&T Offshore analyst rating
• Negative Sentiment: Another market note said spot oil prices fell to multi-week lows, which is a headwind for W&T Offshore because weaker crude prices can pressure revenue and margins. Oil market weakness article
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upgrades, Zacks still projects negative earnings for multiple future periods, including FY2026 and FY2027, indicating the company remains unprofitable in the near term. W&T Offshore earnings estimates

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of W&T Offshore from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. William Blair began coverage on shares of W&T Offshore in a research report on Friday, April 17th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of W&T Offshore in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of W&T Offshore from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W&T Offshore presently has an average rating of "Hold".

W&T Offshore Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $3.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $570.87 million, a PE ratio of -4.04 and a beta of 0.29.

W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $150.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $138.41 million. On average, research analysts forecast that W&T Offshore, Inc. will post -0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W&T Offshore Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. W&T Offshore's dividend payout ratio is -4.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W&T Offshore

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WTI. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in W&T Offshore by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,502,907 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,450,000 after acquiring an additional 206,810 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in W&T Offshore by 447.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 257,635 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 210,564 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in W&T Offshore by 381.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,400,024 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,901,213 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in W&T Offshore by 47.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 319,286 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 102,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in W&T Offshore by 1,596.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 297,870 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 280,312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.88% of the company's stock.

W&T Offshore Company Profile

W&T Offshore, Inc is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused primarily on offshore operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The company acquires, develops and produces crude oil and natural gas reserves, operating a portfolio of producing properties that encompasses both shallow-water and deepwater assets. W&T Offshore leverages its technical expertise and asset management capabilities to optimize field development and production efficiency across its portfolio.

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, W&T Offshore has built a track record of disciplined growth through strategic acquisitions and targeted exploration activities.

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