Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Sunday.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $3.00 price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

Shares of Nordic American Tankers stock opened at $2.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Nordic American Tankers has a 52 week low of $2.39 and a 52 week high of $4.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.99. The company has a market capitalization of $539.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91 and a beta of -0.33.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The shipping company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $46.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.38 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 26.41%. As a group, analysts expect that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NAT. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 53,105 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 8,411 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 2,001.0% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 413,568 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 393,884 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Nordic American Tankers by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,787,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,468,000 after purchasing an additional 13,300 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Nordic American Tankers by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 57,408 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 18,890 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 673,097 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 60,391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

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 20 Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.