Short Interest in DHT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DHT) Rises By 53.7%

DHT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DHT) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,457,385 shares, an increase of 53.7% from the November 30th total of 2,249,668 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,581,559 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,581,559 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DHT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of DHT in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of DHT in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of DHT from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of DHT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of DHT in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, DHT has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in DHT during the first quarter worth about $729,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of DHT by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 532,609 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,592,000 after purchasing an additional 86,115 shares during the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of DHT by 85.0% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 144,247 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 66,284 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of DHT in the second quarter valued at approximately $623,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of DHT by 11.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,899,375 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $52,962,000 after purchasing an additional 491,717 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.53% of the company’s stock.

DHT Stock Performance

DHT stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $12.35. 228,843 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,768,632. DHT has a 1-year low of $8.99 and a 1-year high of $13.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95 and a beta of -0.08.

DHT (NYSE:DHT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.11. DHT had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The business had revenue of $107.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that DHT will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

DHT Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. DHT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.06%.

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.