Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $6.80 and last traded at $6.8110, with a volume of 307432 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on NAT. Evercore cut shares of Nordic American Tankers from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $4.50 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nordic American Tankers has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $4.00.

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.83 and a beta of -0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.75. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $6.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.57.

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

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.1%. This is an increase from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 10th. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 325.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 269.8% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 298.7% during the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 68,325 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 51,187 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 8.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 221,939 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 18,222 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 22.6% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 428,298 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 78,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 74.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,719 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 16,560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

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.