StockNews.com Downgrades Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) to Sell

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $3.00 price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

Nordic American Tankers Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Nordic American Tankers stock opened at $2.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $525.12 million, a P/E ratio of 8.67 and a beta of -0.31. Nordic American Tankers has a 1 year low of $2.41 and a 1 year high of $4.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $2.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.06.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $46.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.38 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 26.41%. Analysts forecast that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NAT. WealthTrust Axiom LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 652,683 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,632,000 after buying an additional 4,665 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Nordic American Tankers by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 483,457 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 5,439 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 18,586 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 5,439 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 75,107 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 5,811 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 40,074 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 6,712 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.