Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $3.74, but opened at $3.62. Nordic American Tankers shares last traded at $3.6750, with a volume of 1,019,784 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NAT shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on 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 Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $3.50 target price on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Friday, November 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.25.

Nordic American Tankers Trading Down 4.4%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.12. The firm has a market cap of $757.01 million, a P/E ratio of 179.34 and a beta of -0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

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

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This is a positive change from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,000.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 61.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,326,919 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648,496 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,150,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 108.3% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,429,423 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263,228 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP grew its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 168.4% in the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 1,761,198 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 25.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,260,627 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $16,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057,232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

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.