Riverwater Partners Is Betting on Oceaneering International (OII) as Offshore Energy Spending Recovers

Riverwater Partners Is Betting on Oceaneering International (OII) as Offshore Energy Spending Recovers

Tue, September 1, 2026 at 3:54 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• ^RUT -0.54%
• OII -0.04%

Riverwater Partners, an investment management company, released its 'Small Cap Strategy' Q2 2026 investor letter. The letter can be downloaded here. The Small Cap Strategy underperformed the Russell 2000 in the second quarter as the benchmark experienced one of its strongest risk-on rallies in recent memory, although the strategy remained ahead year-to-date. The quarter was defined by accelerating AI investment, energy market disruptions, and renewed investor appetite for higher-beta stocks, creating headwinds for the firm's quality-focused approach and healthcare positioning. Despite this, stock selection contributed positively in energy, materials, and financials, while healthcare and consumer discretionary detracted due to the fund's disciplined avoidance of speculative businesses. Looking ahead, the firm remains cautiously optimistic, focusing on opportunities created by market dislocations, including AI infrastructure enablers, select consumer companies, healthcare innovators, and energy businesses trading below intrinsic value. The strategy continues to emphasize high-quality companies with strong management teams and attractive valuations, positioning the portfolio for a potential rotation away from speculative market leadership. In addition, please check the Strategy's top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.

In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Riverwater Partners Small Cap Strategy highlighted Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII). Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII), a subsea engineering and offshore services company that serves the offshore energy, defense, aerospace, and manufacturing industries, was added to the portfolio in the quarter. On August 31, 2026, Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII) closed at $51.76 per share. The one-month return of Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII) was 2.64% and its shares gained 112.92% over the past 52 weeks. Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII) has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion.

Riverwater Partners Small Cap Strategy stated the following regarding Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:

"Within energy, we repositioned toward services. We initiated Oceaneering International (OII), a leader in subsea robotics and offshore services, as offshore and subsea capital spending emerges from a seven-year drought and the U.S. rig count climbs; the position was funded in part by our exit of natural gas producer CNX Resources (CNX)."

Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII) is not on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 34 hedge fund portfolios held Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII) at the end of the second quarter which was 28 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII) and shared a list of stocks that blew past Wall Street estimates. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

READ NEXT: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 Years.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.