Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Upgraded to “Hold” 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 research report report published on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages have also commented on NAT. Evercore ISI upped 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 report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nordic American Tankers has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.25.

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

NAT stock opened at $4.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $866.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 204.60 and a beta of -0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Nordic American Tankers has a 12-month low of $2.13 and a 12-month high of $4.19.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 1.12% and a return on equity of 0.39%. The business had revenue of $40.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.89 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a positive change from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.7%. Nordic American Tankers’s payout ratio is currently 2,600.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NAT. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the third quarter worth $32,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Nordic American Tankers in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new position in Nordic American Tankers during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other 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.