Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Trading Down 4.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) traded down 4.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $5.54 and last traded at $5.5550. 2,787,071 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 4,449,718 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 79.08 and a beta of -0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.95.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The shipping company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). Nordic American Tankers had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 2.47%. The business had revenue of $58.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.43 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This is a boost from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. Nordic American Tankers’s payout ratio is presently 971.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CenterBook Partners LP grew its position in Nordic American Tankers by 110.1% during the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 3,700,409 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,729,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939,211 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Nordic American Tankers by 108.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,429,423 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263,228 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 25.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,260,627 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $16,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057,232 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 83.9% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,277,830 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,353 shares during the period. Finally, Simcoe Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,522,000. 44.29% of the stock is 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.