Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI)

W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:WTI) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 30,845 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 3,482% compared to the typical volume of 861 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of W&T Offshore by 20.4% in the third quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,500 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 5,340 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of W&T Offshore by 21.7% in the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 36,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 6,524 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in W&T Offshore by 42.7% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 21,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 6,569 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of W&T Offshore by 3.0% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 283,774 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 8,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in W&T Offshore by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 139,578 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 10,474 shares in the last quarter. 42.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W&T Offshore Price Performance

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

W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $125.69 million. Research analysts anticipate that W&T Offshore will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of W&T Offshore in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of W&T Offshore from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W&T Offshore has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

W&T Offshore Company Profile

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.