MQS Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 50,694 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Nordic American Tankers by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,606,339 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $46,195,000 after buying an additional 621,588 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 40.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,009,096 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 19.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,682,487 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,595,000 after acquiring an additional 275,707 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 122.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,291,682 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,141,000 after acquiring an additional 711,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new position in Nordic American Tankers during the third quarter worth about $4,069,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.29% of the company’s stock.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NAT opened at $2.98 on Friday. Nordic American Tankers Limited has a 52-week low of $2.95 and a 52-week high of $4.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $622.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28 and a beta of -0.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.74.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shipping company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.03. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 26.35%. The company had revenue of $66.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Nordic American Tankers from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Nordic American Tankers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday.

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.