Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Stock Price Down 3.9%

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT – Get Rating) shares dropped 3.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $2.70 and last traded at $2.72. Approximately 53,131 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 99% from the average daily volume of 4,384,954 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.83.

Separately, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.33.

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.54 million, a PE ratio of -3.64 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.00.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 25th. The shipping company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.12). Nordic American Tankers had a negative net margin of 176.94% and a negative return on equity of 19.85%. The business had revenue of $22.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post -0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 11th were paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 10th. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently -5.48%.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 1st quarter valued at $130,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 232.1% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 207,394 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 144,941 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,530,449 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $16,106,000 after buying an additional 260,581 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 431.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 394,739 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 320,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.96% of the company’s stock.

About Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT)

Nordic American Tankers Limited, a tanker company, acquires and charters double-hull tankers in Bermuda and internationally. It operates a fleet of 25 Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company was formerly known as Nordic American Tanker Shipping Limited and changed its name to Nordic American Tankers Limited in June 2011.

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