Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Trading Down 5.4% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Nordic American Tankers shares fell 5.4% on Thursday, trading as low as $5.85 after closing at $6.06 the prior day. Volume was far below normal, with only 169,338 shares traded versus an average of about 4.37 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Wall Street Zen cut the stock from strong-buy to buy, and Evercore downgraded it to underperform with a $4.50 price target. MarketBeat says the stock currently carries an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $4.00.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, or $0.88 annualized, implying a 15.5% yield. In its latest earnings report, NAT beat EPS expectations but missed revenue estimates, while institutional investors continue to hold a significant stake in the company.

Shares of Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) were down 5.4% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $5.85 and last traded at $5.7350. 169,338 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 96% from the average daily volume of 4,368,729 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NAT. Wall Street Zen lowered Nordic American Tankers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Evercore lowered Nordic American Tankers from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $4.50 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $4.00.

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02 and a beta of -0.57. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.09.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $77.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.86 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 9.16% and a net margin of 24.19%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.5%. This is a boost from Nordic American Tankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Nordic American Tankers's dividend payout ratio is 325.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $16,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057,232 shares during the period. Simcoe Capital LLC acquired a new position in Nordic American Tankers during the 4th quarter worth about $3,522,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 511.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 115,312 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 96,464 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP grew its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 110.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the first quarter valued at about $353,000. 44.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.