W&T Offshore Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:WTI)

W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors bought 30,845 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 3,482% compared to the typical daily volume of 861 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W&T Offshore

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTI. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in W&T Offshore by 381.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,400,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,912,000 after buying an additional 1,901,213 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W&T Offshore by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,560,561 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,660,000 after purchasing an additional 647,596 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in W&T Offshore during the third quarter valued at approximately $853,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in W&T Offshore by 55.7% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 882,842 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after buying an additional 315,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in W&T Offshore by 826.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 324,807 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 289,739 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded W&T Offshore from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of W&T Offshore in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

W&T Offshore Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTI traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2.40. 3,044,749 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,047,230. W&T Offshore has a 52-week low of $1.09 and a 52-week high of $2.59. The firm has a market cap of $356.33 million, a P/E ratio of -2.42 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.86.

W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $127.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $125.69 million. Equities research analysts expect that W&T Offshore will post -0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About W&T Offshore

W&T Offshore, Inc is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused primarily on offshore operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The company acquires, develops and produces crude oil and natural gas reserves, operating a portfolio of producing properties that encompasses both shallow-water and deepwater assets. W&T Offshore leverages its technical expertise and asset management capabilities to optimize field development and production efficiency across its portfolio.

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, W&T Offshore has built a track record of disciplined growth through strategic acquisitions and targeted exploration activities.