Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $3.00 price objective on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research report on Thursday, May 29th.

Nordic American Tankers Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NAT stock traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $2.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,220,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,753,214. Nordic American Tankers has a twelve month low of $2.13 and a twelve month high of $4.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $575.96 million, a P/E ratio of 9.38 and a beta of -0.27. The stock's 50-day moving average is $2.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.62.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The shipping company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.02). Nordic American Tankers had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 11.95%. The firm had revenue of $46.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.38 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.29%. This is an increase from Nordic American Tankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Nordic American Tankers's payout ratio is currently 127.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NAT. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Summit Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Red Door Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Nordic American Tankers during the first quarter worth $39,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in Nordic American Tankers in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.29% of the company's stock.

About Nordic American Tankers

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.