Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $7.34 and last traded at $7.1650, with a volume of 3624602 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $7.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. B Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on Nordic American Tankers from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.33.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $6.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.90. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14 and a beta of -0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 3.27 and a quick ratio of 3.05.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The shipping company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $79.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.18 million. Nordic American Tankers had a net margin of 47.04% and a return on equity of 20.58%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 149.15%.

Institutional Trading of Nordic American Tankers

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Nordic American Tankers by 269.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 129,546 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 94,514 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 298.7% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 68,325 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 51,187 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 221,939 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 18,222 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 428,298 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 78,948 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 74.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,719 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 16,560 shares during the last quarter. 44.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nordic American Tankers Company Profile

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.