DHT (NYSE:DHT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

DHT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DHT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $21.29 and last traded at $21.1670, with a volume of 2746026 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded DHT from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, DHT presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.33.

DHT Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.20 and a beta of -0.09. The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.74 and its 200-day moving average is $18.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

DHT (NYSE:DHT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $254.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.17 million. DHT had a net margin of 65.52% and a return on equity of 39.40%. DHT’s quarterly revenue was up 174.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share.

DHT Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 23.1%. This is an increase from DHT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. DHT’s payout ratio is presently 165.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other DHT news, CFO Laila Halvorsen sold 50,000 shares of DHT stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 161,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,220,220. The trade was a 23.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Svenn Edvardsen sold 341,007 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.29, for a total value of $6,919,032.03. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 395,705 shares in the company, valued at $8,028,854.45. This trade represents a 46.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 553,803 shares of company stock worth $11,169,297 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DHT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of DHT by 178.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 70,582 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 45,275 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in DHT during the 2nd quarter valued at about $171,000. Creative Planning increased its stake in DHT by 34.1% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,189 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,859 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in DHT by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 400,068 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,325,000 after purchasing an additional 40,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in DHT in the second quarter worth about $162,000. 58.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

DHT Company Profile

DHT Holdings, Inc (NYSE: DHT) is a Bermuda-based independent crude oil tanker company that provides seaborne transportation of crude oil on a worldwide basis. The company’s core business involves the ownership and operation of a modern fleet of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and Suezmax tankers, which are chartered to oil producers, trading houses and national oil companies. Through spot charters, time-charters and tanker pooling arrangements, DHT connects crude oil exporters with refining hubs in Asia, Europe, North America and other global markets.

Founded in 2005 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange later that year, DHT has grown its presence in the maritime sector by focusing on operational efficiency and disciplined capital management.