Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $8.33 and last traded at $8.0380, with a volume of 4915209 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NAT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nordic American Tankers from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered Nordic American Tankers from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. 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. Finally, B Riley restated a “buy” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Friday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.33.

Nordic American Tankers Trading Down 0.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93 and a beta of -0.54. The company has a current ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.05.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The shipping company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $79.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.18 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 47.04%. As a group, analysts forecast 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 disclosed 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 represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. 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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Nordic American Tankers by 108.2% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 279,390 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after acquiring an additional 145,184 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the second quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the second quarter worth approximately $253,000. Finally, SMART Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the second quarter worth approximately $62,000. 44.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nordic American Tankers Company Profile

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE: NAT) is an international tanker company that owns and operates crude oil tankers. The company’s fleet is primarily composed of Suezmax vessels, which transport large quantities of crude oil between major ports and energy markets.

Nordic American Tankers provides seaborne crude oil transportation services to oil companies, trading firms and other customers worldwide. Its vessels may operate under voyage charters, time charters or other commercial arrangements, allowing the company to serve changing demand across global shipping routes.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, Nordic American Tankers has historically emphasized operating a focused Suezmax tanker fleet and maintaining a presence in international crude oil transportation.