Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Shares of Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $64.15, but opened at $57.69. Tidewater shares last traded at $55.61, with a volume of 402,714 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Tidewater from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Tidewater from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tidewater currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.25.

Tidewater Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $69.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.19. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Tidewater (NYSE:TDW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $339.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $331.85 million. Tidewater had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 18.04%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 57.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Analysts forecast that Tidewater Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tidewater announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 6th that permits the company to buyback $13.90 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 0.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tidewater

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Tidewater by 135.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 266 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Tidewater in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Tidewater in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in Tidewater in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Tidewater by 6,322.2% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. 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.