Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $54.71, but opened at $56.53. Tidewater shares last traded at $56.57, with a volume of 169,417 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on TDW. StockNews.com raised Tidewater from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James lowered Tidewater from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $131.00 to $102.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, DNB Markets assumed coverage on Tidewater in a research note on Friday, November 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tidewater currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.80.

Tidewater Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Insider Activity at Tidewater

In other news, CEO Quintin Kneen acquired 41,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $48.06 per share, for a total transaction of $2,000,016.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 176,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,470,046.34. The trade was a 30.91 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 8.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tidewater

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TDW. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Tidewater in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in Tidewater in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Tidewater by 163.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 701 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. purchased a new position in Tidewater during the third quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Tidewater by 6,322.2% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.