Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Monday.

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

Nordic American Tankers Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:NAT opened at $2.57 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $535.56 million, a PE ratio of 8.84 and a beta of -0.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $2.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.95. 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.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The shipping company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $46.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.38 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 26.41%. On average, analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

Nordic American Tankers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.36%. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 274.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 268,115 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $984,000 after acquiring an additional 196,571 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 834.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 545,019 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 486,710 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 4th quarter valued at $509,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC raised its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 1,206,410 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,016,000 after buying an additional 97,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 483,457 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after buying an additional 5,439 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

About Nordic American Tankers

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.