Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) Short Interest Down 14.9% in April

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) was the target of a large decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 10,635,172 shares, a decline of 14.9% from the March 31st total of 12,495,236 shares. Approximately 5.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,975,651 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

Nordic American Tankers stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5.76. 2,943,109 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,566,039. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.41. Nordic American Tankers has a 52-week low of $2.54 and a 52-week high of $6.34. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.23 and a beta of -0.52.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The shipping company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.03). Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 6.39%.The firm had revenue of $58.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.43 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.8%. This is an increase from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 971.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Nordic American Tankers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Evercore cut Nordic American Tankers from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $4.50 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $4.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CenterBook Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 110.1% during the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 3,700,409 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,939,211 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 108.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,429,423 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,628,000 after buying an additional 1,263,228 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,057,232 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 83.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,277,830 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,152,000 after buying an additional 1,039,353 shares during the period. Finally, Simcoe Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the fourth quarter worth $3,522,000. 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.