Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Shares Up 3%

Shares of Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT – Get Rating) shot up 3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $3.81 and last traded at $3.81. 743,472 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 3,555,073 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NAT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Nordic American Tankers from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 27th. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nordic American Tankers currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.25.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $711.93 million, a PE ratio of 61.33 and a beta of 0.14.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The shipping company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.05). Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 2.96% and a net margin of 8.95%. The firm had revenue of $71.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $83.48 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.12) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is an increase from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 16.30%. Nordic American Tankers’s payout ratio is 1,000.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 33,010 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 3,392 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 35,993 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 3,679 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 142,905 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,549 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 26,415 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 4,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American International Group Inc. grew its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 89,027 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 5,546 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.41% of the company’s stock.

Nordic American Tankers Company Profile

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Nordic American Tankers Ltd. operates as an international tanker company. It owns and operates Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company was founded by Herbjorn Hansson on June 12, 1995 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.