Traders Buy Large Volume of Nordic American Tankers Call Options (NYSE:NAT)

Key Points

• Options activity surged: Traders purchased 82,407 NAT call options, a 3,548% increase over the average daily volume of 2,259 contracts.
• Shares and dividend rose: NAT stock traded at $7.27, near its 52-week high, while the company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, implying a 14.9% annualized yield.
• Mixed analyst outlook: B. Riley raised its price target to $8 and maintained a Buy rating, but the broader analyst consensus remains Hold with a $5.33 target price.

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 82,407 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 3,548% compared to the average daily volume of 2,259 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the second quarter worth $30,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Nordic American Tankers during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Nordic American Tankers in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. ROI Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 2,800.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 10,875 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 10,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.29% of the company's stock.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

Shares of NAT stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $7.27. 4,094,306 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,136,187. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Nordic American Tankers has a 52-week low of $3.06 and a 52-week high of $7.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32 and a beta of -0.54.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The shipping company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.02. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 47.04%.The company had revenue of $79.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.18 million. Research analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This is a positive change from Nordic American Tankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Nordic American Tankers's dividend payout ratio is presently 149.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on NAT. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on Nordic American Tankers from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. B Riley reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $5.33.

About Nordic American Tankers

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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