Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $7.20 and last traded at $7.0750, with a volume of 712425 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NAT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on shares of Nordic American Tankers from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. B Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.33.

Nordic American Tankers Trading Down 0.5%

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $6.38 and its 200 day moving average is $5.83. The company has a current ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92 and a beta of -0.55.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The shipping company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $79.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.18 million. Nordic American Tankers had a net margin of 47.04% and a return on equity of 20.58%. On average, equities analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Nordic American Tankers’s payout ratio is 183.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CenterBook Partners LP raised its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 110.1% during the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 3,700,409 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,939,211 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Nordic American Tankers by 108.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,429,423 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263,228 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,302,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,277,830 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simcoe Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,522,000. 44.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nordic American Tankers Company Profile

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.