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

StockNews.com cut shares of Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $3.00 price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

Shares of NAT stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $2.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,513,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,461,955. Nordic American Tankers has a 12 month low of $2.39 and a 12 month high of $4.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm's fifty day moving average is $2.62 and its 200 day moving average is $2.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $529.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74 and a beta of -0.33.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The shipping company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $46.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.38 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 26.41%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.47%. Nordic American Tankers's dividend payout ratio is 109.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NAT. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,787,400 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $9,468,000 after purchasing an additional 13,300 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,678,423 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $6,696,000 after buying an additional 246,365 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,493,016 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $6,233,000 after buying an additional 22,615 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,376,932 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,442,000 after buying an additional 44,380 shares during the period. Finally, Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC raised its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 1,206,410 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,016,000 after acquiring an additional 97,819 shares during the last quarter. 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.