Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) Raises Dividend to $0.07 Per Share

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 30th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.07 per share by the shipping company on Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. This is a 16.7% increase from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06.

Nordic American Tankers has a dividend payout ratio of 68.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Nordic American Tankers to earn $0.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 92.3%.

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

NYSE NAT opened at $2.72 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $2.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.61. The company has a market cap of $574.90 million, a PE ratio of 9.36 and a beta of -0.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Nordic American Tankers has a 1 year low of $2.13 and a 1 year high of $4.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $3.00 price objective on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NAT. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 269.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 129,546 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 94,514 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 428,298 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after buying an additional 78,948 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 298.7% in the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 68,325 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 51,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 221,939 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 18,222 shares in the last quarter. 44.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nordic American Tankers

Nordic American Tankers Limited, a tanker company, acquires and charters double-hull tankers in Bermuda and internationally. It operates a fleet of 20 Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.