Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $5.02, but opened at $5.34. Nordic American Tankers shares last traded at $5.29, with a volume of 1,324,774 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $3.50 target price on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Friday, November 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.25.

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.84. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.51 and a beta of -0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The shipping company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.03). Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 6.39%.The business had revenue of $58.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.43 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This is an increase from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Nordic American Tankers’s payout ratio is presently 971.43%.

Institutional Trading of Nordic American Tankers

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 44.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.