Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Nordic American Tankers has a consensus “Hold” rating from five analysts: two buys, two holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $5.33, below the stock’s recent price of $6.92.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.32, beating analysts’ $0.30 estimate, although revenue of $79.3 million fell short of the $84.18 million consensus forecast.
• Nordic American Tankers raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.22, equating to a $1.08 annualized payout and a reported 15.6% yield.

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $5.3333.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. B Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings lowered Nordic American Tankers from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:NAT traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.92. 3,790,069 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,126,905. Nordic American Tankers has a twelve month low of $3.04 and a twelve month high of $7.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $6.36 and a 200 day moving average of $5.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 3.05 and a current ratio of 3.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of -0.57.

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

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Nordic American Tankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.6%. Nordic American Tankers's dividend payout ratio is presently 149.15%.

Institutional Trading of Nordic American Tankers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NAT. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 298.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 221,939 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 18,222 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Nordic American Tankers by 22.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 428,298 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 78,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 74.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,719 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 16,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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