Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $47.05, but opened at $49.55. Tidewater shares last traded at $48.77, with a volume of 171,054 shares traded.

Specifically, CEO Quintin Kneen purchased 41,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $48.06 per share, with a total value of $2,000,016.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,239 shares in the company, valued at $8,470,046.34. This trade represents a 30.91 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on TDW. Raymond James lowered shares of Tidewater from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $131.00 to $102.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Tidewater from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, DNB Markets initiated coverage on shares of Tidewater in a research report on Friday, November 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.80.

Tidewater Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 1.10.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tidewater

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Tidewater during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Tidewater during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Tidewater by 163.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 701 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Tidewater during the third quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. 95.13% of the stock is currently 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.