Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on DHT (NYSE:DHT)

DHT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DHT) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 60,120 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,058% compared to the typical volume of 5,192 call options.

DHT Stock Performance

NYSE:DHT traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.50. 3,291,919 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,735,000. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a current ratio of 3.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.63 and a beta of -0.11. DHT has a fifty-two week low of $10.69 and a fifty-two week high of $20.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.55.

DHT (NYSE:DHT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $254.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.17 million. DHT had a net margin of 65.52% and a return on equity of 39.40%. The business’s revenue was up 174.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 EPS.

DHT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This is an increase from DHT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 25.0%. DHT’s payout ratio is presently 87.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeremy Kramer sold 29,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.65, for a total value of $555,695.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 71,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,330,341.80. This represents a 29.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DHT

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in DHT by 593.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 41,145 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 35,210 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of DHT in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,720,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of DHT by 74.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,315,767 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $78,849,000 after buying an additional 1,836,892 shares in the last quarter. WIT Partners Advisory Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in DHT during the first quarter worth $5,163,000. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of DHT during the 4th quarter worth $774,000. Institutional investors own 58.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on DHT. BTIG Research boosted their target price on DHT from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore cut DHT from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded DHT from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded DHT from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.33.

About DHT

DHT Holdings, Inc (NYSE: DHT) is a Bermuda-based independent crude oil tanker company that provides seaborne transportation of crude oil on a worldwide basis. The company’s core business involves the ownership and operation of a modern fleet of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and Suezmax tankers, which are chartered to oil producers, trading houses and national oil companies. Through spot charters, time-charters and tanker pooling arrangements, DHT connects crude oil exporters with refining hubs in Asia, Europe, North America and other global markets.

Founded in 2005 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange later that year, DHT has grown its presence in the maritime sector by focusing on operational efficiency and disciplined capital management.