Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Stock Price Down 8.4% – Time to Sell?

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) shares dropped 8.4% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $5.77 and last traded at $5.7350. 3,847,144 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 4,403,201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore downgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $4.50 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Nordic American Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $4.00.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Down 8.9%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $5.61 and its 200-day moving average is $4.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06 and a beta of -0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a current ratio of 3.00.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $77.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.86 million. Nordic American Tankers had a net margin of 24.19% and a return on equity of 9.16%. As a group, analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Nordic American Tankers’s payout ratio is 325.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC raised its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 18.0% during the first quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 13,666 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 2,087 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 37,492 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 54,470 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 35,883 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 44,606 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 3,433 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

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.