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

Shares of Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $6.34 and last traded at $6.3250, with a volume of 2544313 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $6.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on NAT. Evercore cut shares of Nordic American Tankers from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $4.50 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nordic American Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nordic American Tankers currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $4.00.

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.89. The company has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39 and a beta of -0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a current ratio of 3.00.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $77.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.86 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 9.16% and a net margin of 24.19%. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.0%. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is 325.93%.

Institutional Trading of Nordic American Tankers

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NAT. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC boosted its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 13,666 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 2,087 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 37,492 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 2,416 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 54,470 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 35,883 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 44,606 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 3,433 shares during the period. 44.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.