Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on DHT (NYSE:DHT)

DHT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DHT) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 22,365 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 700% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,795 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of DHT in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of DHT in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of DHT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. Evercore raised their price target on DHT from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of DHT from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, DHT currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.33.

Institutional Trading of DHT

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DHT. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in DHT by 360.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,963,693 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $35,416,000 after buying an additional 2,320,564 shares in the last quarter. Marex Group plc increased its holdings in shares of DHT by 5,860.2% in the 4th quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 1,084,752 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,552 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of DHT by 706.0% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,077,704 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $11,650,000 after buying an additional 943,990 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of DHT in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,927,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of DHT by 447.5% in the 4th quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 744,601 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,092,000 after acquiring an additional 608,601 shares during the period. 58.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

DHT Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of DHT stock traded up $0.34 on Tuesday, reaching $16.25. 3,360,021 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,765,092. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41 and a beta of -0.07. DHT has a 52 week low of $8.99 and a 52 week high of $16.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.66.

DHT (NYSE:DHT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The shipping company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $117.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.96 million. DHT had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 42.35%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that DHT will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

DHT Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.1%. This is a boost from DHT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. DHT’s payout ratio is presently 125.19%.

DHT Company Profile

DHT Holdings, Inc (NYSE: DHT) is a Bermuda-based independent crude oil tanker company that provides seaborne transportation of crude oil on a worldwide basis. The company’s core business involves the ownership and operation of a modern fleet of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and Suezmax tankers, which are chartered to oil producers, trading houses and national oil companies. Through spot charters, time-charters and tanker pooling arrangements, DHT connects crude oil exporters with refining hubs in Asia, Europe, North America and other global markets.

Founded in 2005 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange later that year, DHT has grown its presence in the maritime sector by focusing on operational efficiency and disciplined capital management.