Squarepoint Ops LLC Trims Stake in Nordic American Tankers Limited $NAT

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its Nordic American Tankers stake by 67.4% in the second quarter, selling 178,770 shares and retaining 86,466 shares valued at approximately $479,000.
• Other institutional activity was mixed: BlackRock and Dimensional Fund Advisors increased their positions, while several investment firms initiated new stakes. Institutions collectively own 44.29% of NAT.
• Nordic American Tankers raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, implying a 13.1% annualized yield, while its latest earnings of $0.32 per share exceeded analyst expectations. Despite some bullish analyst actions, the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating with a $5.33 target price.

Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its holdings in Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT - Free Report) by 67.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,466 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 178,770 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Nordic American Tankers were worth $479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Nordic American Tankers by 6.2% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 12,764,448 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $70,715,000 after buying an additional 746,279 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,189,811 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $71,430,000 after buying an additional 460,555 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,692,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $4,377,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,302,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.29% of the company's stock.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NAT opened at $8.22 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.05. Nordic American Tankers Limited has a 52 week low of $3.06 and a 52 week high of $8.33. The company has a quick ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94 and a beta of -0.54.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 27th. The shipping company reported $0.32 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $79.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $84.18 million. On average, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.1%. This is a boost from Nordic American Tankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Nordic American Tankers's dividend payout ratio is presently 183.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Nordic American Tankers from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. B Riley reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research report on Friday, August 28th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Nordic American Tankers from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nordic American Tankers currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $5.33.

About Nordic American Tankers

Nordic American Tankers Limited NYSE: NAT is an international tanker company that owns and operates crude oil tankers. The company's fleet is primarily composed of Suezmax vessels, which transport large quantities of crude oil between major ports and energy markets.

Nordic American Tankers provides seaborne crude oil transportation services to oil companies, trading firms and other customers worldwide. Its vessels may operate under voyage charters, time charters or other commercial arrangements, allowing the company to serve changing demand across global shipping routes.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, Nordic American Tankers has historically emphasized operating a focused Suezmax tanker fleet and maintaining a presence in international crude oil transportation.

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