Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $3.93 and traded as high as $5.50. Nordic American Tankers shares last traded at $5.4550, with a volume of 4,239,604 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $3.50 price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Nordic American Tankers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.25.

Nordic American Tankers Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.94 and a beta of -0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $4.74 and its 200-day moving average is $3.93.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The shipping company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $58.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.43 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 2.47% and a net margin of 6.39%. Analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This is a positive change from Nordic American Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.5%. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 971.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CenterBook Partners LP grew its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 110.1% during the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 3,700,409 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,939,211 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 108.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,429,423 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,628,000 after buying an additional 1,263,228 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 25.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,260,627 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $16,518,000 after buying an additional 1,057,232 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,277,830 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,152,000 after buying an additional 1,039,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simcoe Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,522,000. 44.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nordic American Tankers

Nordic American Tankers Limited is a Bermuda-based shipping company specializing in the ownership and operation of Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company’s fleet is employed on the spot and period charter markets, transporting crude oil across major global trade routes. By focusing on commercially flexible employment strategies, Nordic American Tankers seeks to optimize vessel utilization and generate stable income for shareholders.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, Nordic American Tankers maintains technical and commercial management arrangements through established ship-management partners.