Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $3.79 and last traded at $3.7350, with a volume of 593767 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $3.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NAT shares. Wall Street Zen raised Nordic American Tankers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $3.00 price objective on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nordic American Tankers presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.00.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Up 2.0%

The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $824.77 million, a P/E ratio of 55.64 and a beta of -0.36.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The shipping company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $40.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.35 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 2.67% and a net margin of 7.58%. On average, equities analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.3%. This is a positive change from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. Nordic American Tankers’s payout ratio is presently 571.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 452,706 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 137,213 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Nordic American Tankers by 23.3% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 41,173 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 7,791 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 108.3% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,429,423 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263,228 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Nordic American Tankers by 7.8% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,124,150 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $16,090,000 after purchasing an additional 369,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 18,924 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 4,424 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.