Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

TDW has been the topic of a number of other reports. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Tidewater in a report on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Tidewater from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Tidewater from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.33.

Tidewater Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Tidewater stock traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $79.37. 370,141 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 710,355. The company has a quick ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Tidewater has a twelve month low of $49.54 and a twelve month high of $101.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.92. The company has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 0.63.

Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The oil and gas company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $360.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $358.71 million. Tidewater had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 4.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.02) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Tidewater will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Tidewater

In related news, Director Kenneth Traub sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $990,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 63,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,288,579. This represents a 13.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel A. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.08, for a total value of $1,486,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,029 shares in the company, valued at $3,272,513.32. The trade was a 31.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tidewater

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Tidewater during the third quarter valued at about $106,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Tidewater by 37.3% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,870 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Tidewater by 3.1% in the third quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,321 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Tidewater by 136.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 150,072 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,171,000 after purchasing an additional 86,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tidewater during the 3rd quarter worth about $500,000. Institutional investors own 95.13% of the company’s stock.

About Tidewater

Tidewater Inc. provides offshore support vessels and related marine services to the energy industry. Its vessels transport personnel, equipment and supplies between shore bases and offshore facilities, and support activities such as anchor handling, towing, platform operations and offshore construction. The company operates a diverse fleet that includes platform supply vessels, anchor-handling tug supply vessels, crew boats and other specialized vessels. These services help customers carry out offshore exploration, development and production, as well as certain renewable-energy and subsea projects.