DHT (NYSE:DHT) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

DHT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DHT) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $23.71, but opened at $24.43. DHT shares last traded at $24.6750, with a volume of 581,509 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DHT. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of DHT from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of DHT from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.00.

DHT Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.37 and a beta of -0.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a current ratio of 3.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.62 and a 200-day moving average of $18.82.

DHT (NYSE:DHT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The shipping company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $254.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $247.17 million. DHT had a return on equity of 39.40% and a net margin of 65.52%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 174.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 EPS.

DHT Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 19.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This is a positive change from DHT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. DHT’s payout ratio is currently 165.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at DHT

In related news, insider Jon Eglin sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total transaction of $999,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 324,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,489,193.78. This trade represents a 13.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Erik Lind sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.46, for a total transaction of $673,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 132,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,971,323.24. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 583,803 shares of company stock worth $11,843,097 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of DHT by 74.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,315,767 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $78,849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836,892 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in DHT by 1,072.1% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,162,300 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $21,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063,134 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in DHT by 168.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,186,289 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $21,674,000 after purchasing an additional 744,130 shares during the last quarter. Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV acquired a new position in DHT during the first quarter valued at approximately $13,123,000. Finally, WIT Partners Advisory Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of DHT in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,163,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.53% of the company’s stock.

DHT Company Profile

DHT Holdings, Inc (NYSE: DHT) is a maritime transportation company that owns and operates crude oil tankers. The company primarily focuses on very large crude carriers (VLCCs), which transport substantial volumes of crude oil between major production and refining regions around the world.

DHT provides ocean transportation services through a combination of time charters, voyage charters and pool arrangements. Its vessels serve the international energy industry by moving crude oil from exporting regions to refineries and storage facilities in global markets.