Tidewater cut to Hold at DNB as 'challenging environment' set to last into 2026

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Tidewater (NYSE:TDW [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TDW]) -0.9% in Monday's trading as DNB Carnegie downgraded the provider of vessels and marine services to the offshore petroleum to Hold from Buy with a $53 price target, trimmed from $69, believing market softness is set to persist going into 2026, with limited activity improvement near-term and oil companies increasingly cost-focused, pressuring dayrates and utilization.

"Given its high exposure to shorter-term contracts and the OSV market being highly fragmented, we expect a challenging environment," DNB analyst Kristian Filip Aarli said, lowering his 2026-27 adjusted EBITDA estimate by 8%-9% to below consensus.

A conservative balance sheet should help Tidewater (NYSE:TDW [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/TDW]) navigate the increased uncertainty, according to Aarli, saying that "while it has a $500 million share repurchase program - 21% of market cap - its capital allocation philosophy still prefers M&A over buybacks, as highlighted on its last analyst call."

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