Nordic American Tankers Limited $NAT Shares Sold by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has decreased its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 32.0%, selling 1,297,379 shares, and now owns 2,762,601 shares valued at approximately $6.8 million.
• Research firms have issued mixed ratings on Nordic American Tankers, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock from "hold" to "sell," while Jefferies maintains a "hold" rating with a target price of $3.00.
• Nordic American Tankers has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.10 per share, representing a yield of 12.6%, up from the previous $0.07 per share.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT - Free Report) by 32.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,762,601 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 1,297,379 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 1.30% of Nordic American Tankers worth $6,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Red Door Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the first quarter worth $49,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 312.3% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,974 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 16,644 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 34.0% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 22,072 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 5,605 shares during the period. Finally, Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 42.0% during the first quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,650 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 44.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NAT. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $3.00 price objective on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nordic American Tankers from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $3.00.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Down 1.4%

NAT stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,036,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,519,671. The firm's 50-day moving average is $2.95 and its 200-day moving average is $2.72. The company has a market cap of $689.25 million, a PE ratio of 46.49 and a beta of -0.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Nordic American Tankers Limited has a 12 month low of $2.13 and a 12 month high of $3.83.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The shipping company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.05). Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 2.67% and a net margin of 7.58%.The business had revenue of $40.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $53.35 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.3%. This is a boost from Nordic American Tankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Nordic American Tankers's dividend payout ratio is presently 571.43%.

Nordic American Tankers Profile

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.