WealthTrust Axiom LLC Buys 19,578 Shares of Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC grew its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 674,346 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,578 shares during the quarter. Nordic American Tankers comprises approximately 0.9% of WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Nordic American Tankers were worth $2,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 4.2% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 170,634 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 6,856 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates bought a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 30,344 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 8,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers from $5.00 to $4.50 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet downgraded Nordic American Tankers from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $5.50 price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.33.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Down 0.8 %

NAT traded down $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $3.90. 1,173,370 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,870,396. Nordic American Tankers Limited has a fifty-two week low of $3.26 and a fifty-two week high of $4.83. The stock has a market cap of $814.32 million, a P/E ratio of 8.36 and a beta of -0.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $3.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 1st. The shipping company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $59.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.90 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 37.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a boost from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.31%. Nordic American Tankers’s payout ratio is presently 102.13%.

Nordic American Tankers Company Profile

Nordic American Tankers Limited, a tanker company, acquires and charters double-hull tankers in Bermuda and internationally. It operates a fleet of 19 Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.