Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 12,028 Shares of Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 265,318 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 12,028 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Tidewater were worth $19,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Tidewater by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,814,738 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $442,956,000 after purchasing an additional 985,398 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in Tidewater during the third quarter worth $51,089,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Tidewater by 11,317.3% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 645,418 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $60,992,000 after acquiring an additional 639,765 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Tidewater by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,323,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $214,055,000 after acquiring an additional 243,489 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Tidewater by 72.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 443,833 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,257,000 after purchasing an additional 185,972 shares during the last quarter. 95.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TDW. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Tidewater from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James cut Tidewater from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $131.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.25.

Tidewater Stock Performance

Shares of TDW stock opened at $53.19 on Friday. Tidewater Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.61 and a 52 week high of $111.42. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Tidewater declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 6th that permits the company to repurchase $13.90 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 0.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.