Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of offshore services provider Tidewater (TDW) plunged 10% today after its quarterly results disappointed Wall Street.
So what: The stock has rallied nicely in 2013 on better than expected vessel demand, but today's Q2 results -- revenue increased 14% but EPS of $0.61 widely missed Wall Street's view -- are forcing investors to sober up. In fact, vessel operating margins for the quarter slipped 400 basis points year over year to 41%, suggesting that its competitive position is slipping a bit.
Now what: I'd look into this pullback as a possible buying opportunity. Much of the quarter's charges were tied to its recent acquisition of Troms Offshore Supply and a settlement with the Customs Department of Equatorial Guinea, so it would seem that the pressure is just short term in nature. So when you couple the long-term factors still working in Tidewater's favor -- global increase of offshore drilling and a relatively young fleet -- with its suddenly cold stock price, Tidewater might be worth checking out.
