Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) Sets New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $49.85 and last traded at $49.97, with a volume of 406932 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TDW has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Tidewater from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James lowered shares of Tidewater from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $131.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.25.

Tidewater Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $63.19 and its 200 day moving average is $82.80. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 1.14.

Tidewater announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $13.90 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 0.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Tidewater

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in Tidewater in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,089,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Tidewater by 11,317.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 645,418 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $60,992,000 after purchasing an additional 639,765 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Tidewater by 173.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 608,245 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,666,000 after purchasing an additional 385,779 shares in the last quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tidewater during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,871,000. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Tidewater by 11.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,323,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $214,055,000 after purchasing an additional 243,489 shares in the last quarter. 95.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.