Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Trading Up 7.1% – What’s Next?

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT)’s stock price traded up 7.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $3.69 and last traded at $3.6950. 1,552,225 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 2,728,532 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Nordic American Tankers from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $3.50 target price on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.25.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $782.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 184.84 and a beta of -0.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.23.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 28th. The shipping company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($0.02). Nordic American Tankers had a net margin of 1.12% and a return on equity of 0.39%. The business had revenue of $40.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.89 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is an increase from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2,600.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers during the 4th quarter worth about $69,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 888,234 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,789,000 after buying an additional 48,248 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the third quarter worth about $69,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the third quarter worth approximately $140,000. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 43.5% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 452,706 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 137,213 shares in the last quarter. 44.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nordic American Tankers

Nordic American Tankers Limited is a Bermuda-based shipping company specializing in the ownership and operation of Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company’s fleet is employed on the spot and period charter markets, transporting crude oil across major global trade routes. By focusing on commercially flexible employment strategies, Nordic American Tankers seeks to optimize vessel utilization and generate stable income for shareholders.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, Nordic American Tankers maintains technical and commercial management arrangements through established ship-management partners.