Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT)

Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nordic American Tankers were worth $48,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of NAT. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 88.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 77,203 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 36,245 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 783.8% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 484,179 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after buying an additional 429,396 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers during the 3rd quarter worth about $846,000. Greylin Investment Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Greylin Investment Management Inc now owns 1,108,160 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,566,000 after acquiring an additional 110,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 112.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 662,435 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,729,000 after acquiring an additional 351,216 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

NYSE:NAT traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $3.92. 1,206,766 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,071,621. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Nordic American Tankers Limited has a 1 year low of $3.26 and a 1 year high of $4.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $818.50 million, a P/E ratio of 8.40 and a beta of -0.10.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, March 1st. The shipping company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $59.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.90 million. Nordic American Tankers had a net margin of 37.65% and a return on equity of 18.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.63 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 Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.24%. This is a positive change from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on NAT. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Nordic American Tankers from $5.00 to $4.50 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.33.

Nordic American Tankers Company Profile

Nordic American Tankers Limited, a tanker company, acquires and charters double-hull tankers in Bermuda and internationally. It operates a fleet of 19 Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.