W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) Shares Up 4.7% – Should You Buy?

W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI)’s share price was up 4.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $3.89 and last traded at $3.9150. 609,779 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 5,542,496 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on WTI shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of W&T Offshore in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Roth Capital set a $4.25 price objective on shares of W&T Offshore in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered W&T Offshore from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.25.

W&T Offshore Trading Down 5.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $553.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.02 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.60.

W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $162.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.46 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W&T Offshore, Inc. will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W&T Offshore Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. W&T Offshore’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -5.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W&T Offshore

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W&T Offshore in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,065,000. Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in W&T Offshore by 185.8% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 1,589,137 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,006,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033,167 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in W&T Offshore in the second quarter worth $3,592,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in W&T Offshore in the second quarter worth $3,353,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in W&T Offshore by 4.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 649,490 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,215,000 after acquiring an additional 26,262 shares during the period. 42.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About W&T Offshore

W&T Offshore, Inc is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company focused primarily on assets in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The company explores for, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from offshore properties.

W&T Offshore’s operations include interests in producing fields and prospective exploration areas across the Gulf of Mexico, including shallow-water and deepwater assets. Its activities cover the full upstream lifecycle, including geological evaluation, drilling, field development, production, and asset management.

Founded in 1983 by Tracy W.