Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on NAT. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Nordic American Tankers from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $3.50 price objective on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Friday, November 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Nordic American Tankers has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.25.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

Shares of Nordic American Tankers stock opened at $3.57 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $3.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.12. The company has a market cap of $754.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 178.34 and a beta of -0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.95. Nordic American Tankers has a one year low of $2.13 and a one year high of $3.93.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 28th. The shipping company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.02). Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 0.39% and a net margin of 1.12%.The company had revenue of $40.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.89 million. On average, research analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This is a positive change from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.6%. Nordic American Tankers’s payout ratio is 2,000.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 21.4% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,260 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 3,395 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 44,932 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 3,445 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Nordic American Tankers by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,236 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 3,735 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Nordic American Tankers by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 23,886 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 3,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 24,680 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 4,343 shares during the period. 44.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nordic American Tankers

Nordic American Tankers Limited, a tanker company, acquires and charters double-hull tankers in Bermuda and internationally. It operates a fleet of 20 Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.