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

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $6.34 and last traded at $5.9250, with a volume of 3694330 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $3.50 price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.25.

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.94 and a beta of -0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.66.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The shipping company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $58.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.43 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 2.42% and a net margin of 6.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.4%. This is a boost from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 742.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 44,606 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 3,433 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 883,037 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,038,000 after purchasing an additional 155,768 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the fourth quarter valued at $160,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the fourth quarter valued at about $305,000. Finally, Stokes Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 44.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.