Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT)

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 4,510 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 52% compared to the average volume of 2,964 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new position in Nordic American Tankers during the third quarter worth $1,362,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 33.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 3,998 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the 2nd quarter valued at $186,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,203,395 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $11,055,000 after acquiring an additional 554,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 140.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 33,370 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 19,500 shares during the period. 44.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Up 2.3%

NAT stock opened at $4.73 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.54. Nordic American Tankers has a 12 month low of $2.13 and a 12 month high of $4.79. The company has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 236.37 and a beta of -0.43.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 28th. The shipping company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($0.02). Nordic American Tankers had a net margin of 1.12% and a return on equity of 0.39%. The firm had revenue of $40.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.89 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.0%. This is an increase from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Nordic American Tankers’s payout ratio is 2,600.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on NAT. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Evercore upped their price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $3.50 price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Nordic American Tankers presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.25.

Nordic American Tankers Company Profile

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.