Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $7.20 and last traded at $7.0750, with a volume of 712425 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NAT. Weiss Ratings downgraded 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 upgraded Nordic American Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. B Riley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Two investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.33.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 3.05 and a current ratio of 3.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92 and a beta of -0.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.83.

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

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.4%. This is an increase from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC increased its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 13,666 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 2,087 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 37,492 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 2,416 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 54,470 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 2,449 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 44,606 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 3,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Nordic American Tankers by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 18,201 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 3,450 shares during the last quarter. 44.29% of the stock is 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.