Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Nordic American Tankers shares hit a new 52-week high of $8.37, trading up 2.4% with substantial volume. The stock’s 50-day and 200-day moving averages were $7.07 and $6.20, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: B. Riley raised its target to $8 and issued a Buy rating, while the overall consensus rating is Hold with a $5.33 price target.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.32, exceeding estimates by $0.02, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.27, equivalent to a 12.9% annualized yield.

Shares of Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $8.37 and last traded at $8.3350, with a volume of 2703169 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on NAT shares. Weiss Ratings cut Nordic American Tankers from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on shares of Nordic American Tankers from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nordic American Tankers from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $5.33.

Nordic American Tankers Trading Up 2.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 3.05 and a current ratio of 3.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of -0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $7.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.20.

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

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.9%. This is a boost from Nordic American Tankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. Nordic American Tankers's payout ratio is 183.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NAT. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Nordic American Tankers in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Nordic American Tankers in the second quarter valued at $32,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Nordic American Tankers in the second quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.29% of the company's stock.

About Nordic American Tankers

Nordic American Tankers Limited NYSE: NAT is a Bermuda-based international shipping company that owns and operates crude oil tankers. The company's fleet is focused primarily on Suezmax vessels, which are designed to transport large quantities of crude oil and are sized to transit the Suez Canal.

Nordic American Tankers employs a combination of voyage charters, time charters and other commercial arrangements to provide crude oil transportation services to customers in the global energy industry.

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