Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Shares Down 3.6% - Here's What Happened

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) shares traded down 3.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $2.62 and last traded at $2.67. 651,772 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 2,566,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $3.00 price objective on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Nordic American Tankers from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th.

Nordic American Tankers Trading Up 3.4%

The stock has a market cap of $578.08 million, a P/E ratio of 12.41 and a beta of -0.20. The stock's 50-day moving average is $2.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This is a boost from Nordic American Tankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.26%. Nordic American Tankers's payout ratio is 127.27%.

Institutional Trading of Nordic American Tankers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NAT. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,054,000 after buying an additional 78,948 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 18,222 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 298.7% during the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 68,325 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 51,187 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 61.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,326,919 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,644,000 after buying an additional 1,648,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 269.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 129,546 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 94,514 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.29% of the company's stock.

Nordic American Tankers Company 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.