Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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 Wednesday morning.

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

Nordic American Tankers Trading Up 8.3 %

NAT stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $2.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,847,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,544,489. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $529.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $2.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.83. Nordic American Tankers has a 52 week low of $2.13 and a 52 week high of $4.40.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The shipping company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $46.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $51.38 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 26.41%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Nordic American Tankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NAT. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,787,400 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $9,468,000 after purchasing an additional 13,300 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,678,423 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $6,696,000 after purchasing an additional 246,365 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Nordic American Tankers by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,493,016 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $6,233,000 after purchasing an additional 22,615 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,376,932 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,442,000 after purchasing an additional 44,380 shares during the period. Finally, Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 97,819 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.29% of the company's stock.

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.