Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Trading Down 4.4% – Time to Sell?

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT)’s share price fell 4.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $6.65 and last traded at $6.5950. Approximately 283,026 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 4,078,554 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nordic American Tankers presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $4.00.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $6.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.76. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99 and a beta of -0.57.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 9.16% and a net margin of 24.19%.The business had revenue of $77.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.86 million. Analysts expect that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is 325.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NAT. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the second quarter valued at $30,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Nordic American Tankers during the second quarter worth $32,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Nordic American Tankers during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. ROI Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nordic American Tankers during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 2,800.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 10,875 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 10,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

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.