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 released on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Nordic American Tankers from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Thursday, September 12th.

Nordic American Tankers Trading Up 4.6 %

NYSE:NAT traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $3.21. 3,630,523 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,167,226. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm's fifty day moving average is $3.57 and its 200-day moving average is $3.78. Nordic American Tankers has a 12-month low of $3.06 and a 12-month high of $4.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $670.25 million, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of -0.21.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shipping company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $66.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $54.34 million. Nordic American Tankers had a net margin of 26.35% and a return on equity of 11.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Nordic American Tankers Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.95%. Nordic American Tankers's payout ratio is 165.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Nordic American Tankers during the second quarter worth about $25,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers in the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Bluefin Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers in the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Nordic American Tankers during the 2nd quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.