Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $3.50 price objective on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Friday, November 29th.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NAT opened at $2.46 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.09. The stock has a market cap of $512.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.47 and a beta of -0.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Nordic American Tankers has a 12 month low of $2.41 and a 12 month high of $4.40.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 29th. The shipping company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.02). Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 26.41%. As a group, analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordic American Tankers Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.17%.

Institutional Trading of Nordic American Tankers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NAT. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Summit Financial LLC acquired a new position in Nordic American Tankers in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Nordic American Tankers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new stake in Nordic American Tankers in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

About Nordic American Tankers

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.