W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.75, but opened at $3.85. W&T Offshore shares last traded at $3.78, with a volume of 239,660 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WTI shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of W&T Offshore from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of W&T Offshore in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $4.25 price target on shares of W&T Offshore in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.25.

W&T Offshore Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $571.31 million, a P/E ratio of -5.20 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.33.

W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $162.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.46 million. Analysts forecast that W&T Offshore, Inc. will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

W&T Offshore Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. W&T Offshore’s payout ratio is -5.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W&T Offshore

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in W&T Offshore during the second quarter worth $26,065,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W&T Offshore by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,828,361 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,428,000 after purchasing an additional 19,283 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in W&T Offshore by 24.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,071,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,761,000 after purchasing an additional 598,614 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in W&T Offshore by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,680,643 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,369,000 after purchasing an additional 14,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W&T Offshore by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,540,588 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,141,000 after purchasing an additional 508,050 shares during the period. 42.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.