W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $3.33, but opened at $3.44. W&T Offshore shares last traded at $3.3860, with a volume of 887,933 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of W&T Offshore in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of W&T Offshore from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of W&T Offshore in a research note on Friday, April 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

W&T Offshore Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $497.67 million, a P/E ratio of -3.52 and a beta of 0.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.05.

W&T Offshore Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. W&T Offshore’s dividend payout ratio is presently -4.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W&T Offshore

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WTI. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in W&T Offshore by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 649,490 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,215,000 after buying an additional 26,262 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in W&T Offshore by 158.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 590,300 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,013,000 after acquiring an additional 361,900 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in W&T Offshore in the first quarter worth about $2,205,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of W&T Offshore by 1,596.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 297,870 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 280,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W&T Offshore during the first quarter worth about $62,000. 42.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.