Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 50.1% in March to 12,915,413 shares (about 6.3% of the float), leaving a short-interest ratio of 1.7 days.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.17 (annualized $0.68) for a ~12.0% yield, but the dividend payout ratio is an unsustainably high 971.43%.
• Nordic American Tankers missed the quarter (EPS $0.06 vs $0.09 expected; revenue $58.76M vs $69.43M) and carries an average analyst rating of Hold with a $3.25 price target.

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 12,915,413 shares, an increase of 50.1% from the February 26th total of 8,605,641 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,748,080 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 6.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

NYSE NAT traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $5.66. The stock had a trading volume of 2,982,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,467,624. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.80 and a beta of -0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.99. Nordic American Tankers has a 1-year low of $2.13 and a 1-year high of $6.34.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The shipping company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $58.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.43 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 6.39%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This is an increase from Nordic American Tankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.0%. Nordic American Tankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 971.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,729,256 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $40,348,000 after purchasing an additional 354,013 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 25.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,260,627 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $16,518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,232 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,124,150 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $16,090,000 after purchasing an additional 369,462 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP boosted its position in Nordic American Tankers by 110.1% in the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 3,700,409 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $12,729,000 after buying an additional 1,939,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Nordic American Tankers by 0.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,568,766 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $6,756,000 after purchasing an additional 16,535 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $3.50 target price on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $3.25.

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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