Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Price Target to $3.50

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) had its target price decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $4.00 to $3.50 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the shipping company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on NAT. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Nordic American Tankers from $4.50 to $4.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE:NAT opened at $2.98 on Thursday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.49 and a 200-day moving average of $3.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $622.22 million, a PE ratio of 10.28 and a beta of -0.21. Nordic American Tankers has a 52 week low of $2.95 and a 52 week high of $4.64.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.34 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 26.35%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. Analysts predict that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.28 EPS for the current year.

Nordic American Tankers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 16.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 165.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NAT. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,774,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521,900 shares in the last quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the third quarter worth approximately $4,069,000. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Nordic American Tankers during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,373,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Nordic American Tankers by 40.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,499,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,928,000 after buying an additional 1,009,096 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 122.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,291,682 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,141,000 after acquiring an additional 711,973 shares in the last quarter. 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.