Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Trading Down 6.3% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Nordic American Tankers' shares fell 6.3% intraday to $5.4550 with trading volume about 71% below average, and analysts hold a consensus Reduce rating with an average price target of $4.00.
• The company missed quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.06 versus $0.09 expected and revenue of $58.76M versus $69.43M, indicating weaker near-term operating results.
• Nordic increased its quarterly dividend to $0.17 (a $0.68 annualized payout and a 12.2% yield), but the dividend payout ratio is an unsustainably high 971.43%.

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 6.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $5.52 and last traded at $5.4550. 1,301,011 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 4,469,071 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nordic American Tankers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Evercore lowered shares of Nordic American Tankers from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $4.50 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $4.00.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Down 4.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.37 and a beta of -0.52. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $5.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.32.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The shipping company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). Nordic American Tankers had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 2.47%. The company had revenue of $58.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.43 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This is an increase from Nordic American Tankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. Nordic American Tankers's dividend payout ratio is currently 971.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CenterBook Partners LP boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,939,211 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 108.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,429,423 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $7,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263,228 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,057,232 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 83.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,277,830 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $7,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simcoe Capital LLC bought a new stake in Nordic American Tankers in the fourth quarter valued at $3,522,000. Institutional investors own 44.29% of the company's stock.

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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