Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Shares Down 3.5% – Here’s What Happened

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) shares dropped 3.5% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $2.61 and last traded at $2.59. Approximately 231,685 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 3,197,546 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $3.50 price objective on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Friday, November 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd.

Nordic American Tankers Trading Down 2.4 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $2.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.27. The company has a market cap of $546.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02 and a beta of -0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 29th. The shipping company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.02). Nordic American Tankers had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 11.95%. On average, equities analysts expect that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.36%. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is 55.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Nordic American Tankers by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,606,339 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,195,000 after purchasing an additional 621,588 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,774,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521,900 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 122.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,291,682 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,141,000 after purchasing an additional 711,973 shares during the period. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC acquired a new stake in Nordic American Tankers in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,069,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Nordic American Tankers by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 489,382 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,796,000 after buying an additional 7,382 shares during the period. 44.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nordic American Tankers Company Profile

Nordic American Tankers Limited, a tanker company, acquires and charters double-hull tankers in Bermuda and internationally. It operates a fleet of 20 Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.