Nordic American Tankers Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NAT)

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 53,398 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,320% compared to the average daily volume of 3,761 call options.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

Nordic American Tankers stock traded up $0.00 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $5.62. 4,713,860 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,145,175. Nordic American Tankers has a fifty-two week low of $2.13 and a fifty-two week high of $6.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.23 and a beta of -0.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The shipping company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $58.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.43 million. On average, research analysts expect that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 EPS 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 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This is a boost from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.1%. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 742.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NAT shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $3.50 target price on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Nordic American Tankers has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CenterBook Partners LP increased its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 110.1% in the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 3,700,409 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,729,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939,211 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 108.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,429,423 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263,228 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,260,627 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $16,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057,232 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,277,830 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simcoe Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 4th quarter worth $3,522,000. Institutional investors own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

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.