Nordic American Tankers Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NAT)

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 4,510 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 52% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,964 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the third quarter worth $32,000. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Nordic American Tankers during the third quarter valued at $32,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Nordic American Tankers during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Nordic American Tankers during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

NAT traded up $0.16 on Wednesday, hitting $4.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,181,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,991,084. Nordic American Tankers has a 12 month low of $2.13 and a 12 month high of $4.77. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 239.37 and a beta of -0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.53.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $52.89 million. Analysts forecast that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.9%. Nordic American Tankers’s payout ratio is currently 2,600.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $3.50 target price on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Evercore upped their price objective on Nordic American Tankers from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Nordic American Tankers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nordic American Tankers presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.25.

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.