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

Key Points

• Nordic American Tankers reached a new 52-week high of $7.70, with shares last trading near $7.63 and significantly above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: B. Riley raised its price target to $8 and maintained a Buy rating, while the broader consensus is Hold with an average target of $5.33.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.32, beating estimates, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, implying a 14.2% annualized yield.

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $7.70 and last traded at $7.6270, with a volume of 6560705 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93 and a beta of -0.54. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.97.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 27th. The shipping company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $84.18 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Nordic American Tankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.2%. Nordic American Tankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Nordic American Tankers by 3.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,189,811 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $71,430,000 after purchasing an additional 460,555 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 12,764,448 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $70,715,000 after buying an additional 746,279 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP increased its holdings 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 worth $12,729,000 after buying an additional 1,939,211 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,302,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 949,606 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $5,565,000 after buying an additional 66,569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.29% of the company's stock.

About Nordic American Tankers

Nordic American Tankers Limited NYSE: NAT is an international tanker company that owns and operates crude oil tankers. The company's fleet is primarily composed of Suezmax vessels, which transport large quantities of crude oil between major ports and energy markets.

Nordic American Tankers provides seaborne crude oil transportation services to oil companies, trading firms and other customers worldwide. Its vessels may operate under voyage charters, time charters or other commercial arrangements, allowing the company to serve changing demand across global shipping routes.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, Nordic American Tankers has historically emphasized operating a focused Suezmax tanker fleet and maintaining a presence in international crude oil transportation.

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