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

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $6.73 and last traded at $6.5880, with a volume of 208038 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore lowered Nordic American Tankers from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $4.50 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $4.00.

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a current ratio of 3.00. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50 and a beta of -0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.41.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 9.16% and a net margin of 24.19%.The company had revenue of $77.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.86 million. On average, analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Nordic American Tankers’s payout ratio is 325.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NAT. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 269.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 129,546 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 94,514 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 298.7% during the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 68,325 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 51,187 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 8.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 221,939 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 18,222 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 22.6% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 428,298 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 78,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 74.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,719 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 16,560 shares during the last quarter. 44.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.