DHT (NYSE:DHT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of DHT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DHT) gapped up before the market opened on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $23.43, but opened at $24.28. DHT shares last traded at $23.7810, with a volume of 1,733,846 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised DHT from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on DHT from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.00.

DHT Trading Up 1.2%

The stock has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.07 and a beta of -0.03. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a current ratio of 3.64.

DHT (NYSE:DHT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. DHT had a net margin of 65.52% and a return on equity of 39.40%. The firm had revenue of $254.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $247.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 174.8% on a year-over-year basis.

DHT Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 20.6%. This is an increase from DHT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. DHT’s payout ratio is currently 165.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Erik Lind sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.46, for a total value of $673,800.00. Following the sale, the director owned 132,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,971,323.24. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Laila Halvorsen sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 161,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,220,220. This represents a 23.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 583,803 shares of company stock worth $11,843,097 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DHT

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DHT. SLT Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of DHT during the third quarter worth $440,000. Triumph Capital Management boosted its position in shares of DHT by 46.6% in the third quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 5,418 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of DHT by 20.7% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 588,373 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,280,000 after acquiring an additional 101,020 shares in the last quarter. BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of DHT in the second quarter valued at about $237,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of DHT in the second quarter valued at about $83,000. Institutional investors own 58.53% of the company’s stock.

About DHT

DHT Holdings, Inc (NYSE: DHT) is a maritime transportation company that owns and operates crude oil tankers. The company primarily focuses on very large crude carriers (VLCCs), which transport substantial volumes of crude oil between major production and refining regions around the world.

DHT provides ocean transportation services through a combination of time charters, voyage charters and pool arrangements. Its vessels serve the international energy industry by moving crude oil from exporting regions to refineries and storage facilities in global markets.