StockNews.com Upgrades Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) to "Hold"

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

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

Nordic American Tankers Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NAT traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,107,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,953,424. The company has a market capitalization of $552.27 million, a PE ratio of 9.12 and a beta of -0.33. Nordic American Tankers has a one year low of $2.39 and a one year high of $4.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.99. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The shipping company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.02). Nordic American Tankers had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 11.95%. The firm had revenue of $46.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.38 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

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Nordic American Tankers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.07%. Nordic American Tankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 53,105 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 8,411 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 2,001.0% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 413,568 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 393,884 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 13,300 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 57,408 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 18,890 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Nordic American Tankers by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 673,097 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 60,391 shares during the last quarter. 44.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.