Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 12,915,413 shares, an increase of 50.1% from the February 26th total of 8,605,641 shares. Approximately 6.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,748,080 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Institutional Trading of Nordic American Tankers

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NAT. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Nordic American Tankers by 269.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 129,546 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 94,514 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its position in Nordic American Tankers by 298.7% in the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 68,325 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 51,187 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 221,939 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 18,222 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 428,298 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 78,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 74.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,719 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 16,560 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated 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, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.25.

Nordic American Tankers Trading Up 1.2%

NAT stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.66. The company had a trading volume of 2,982,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,467,624. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 80.80 and a beta of -0.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4.87 and a 200-day moving average of $3.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Nordic American Tankers has a one year low of $2.13 and a one year high of $6.34.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The shipping company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $58.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.43 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 6.39%. Research analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a boost from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.0%. Nordic American Tankers’s payout ratio is currently 971.43%.

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.