Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) Sets New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $2.37 and last traded at $2.43, with a volume of 429354 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $2.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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 Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Nordic American Tankers Trading Down 6.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $2.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $461.44 million, a PE ratio of 7.62 and a beta of -0.33.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The shipping company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.02). Nordic American Tankers had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 11.95%. The company had revenue of $46.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.38 million. As a group, analysts expect that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Nordic American Tankers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,787,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,468,000 after buying an additional 13,300 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,678,423 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,696,000 after purchasing an additional 246,365 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Nordic American Tankers by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,493,016 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,233,000 after purchasing an additional 22,615 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,376,932 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,442,000 after purchasing an additional 44,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC grew its position in Nordic American Tankers by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 1,206,410 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,016,000 after purchasing an additional 97,819 shares during the last quarter. 44.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.