Investors Purchase High Volume of Nordic American Tankers Call Options (NYSE:NAT)

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 82,407 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 3,548% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,259 call options.

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

Nordic American Tankers stock opened at $7.22 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 3.27 and a quick ratio of 3.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24 and a beta of -0.54. Nordic American Tankers has a one year low of $3.06 and a one year high of $7.34.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The shipping company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.02. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 47.04%.The firm had revenue of $79.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.18 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.0%. This is a boost from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 149.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NAT. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on shares of Nordic American Tankers from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, B Riley reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC grew its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 18.0% during 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 lifted its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 37,492 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 2,416 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,449 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 44,606 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 3,433 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,831 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 3,571 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

About Nordic American Tankers

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.