Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Increases Stock Position in Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,280 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 7,833 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Nordic American Tankers were worth $113,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NAT. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Summit Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 44.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $3.00 price target on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Nordic American Tankers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th.

Nordic American Tankers Stock Performance

NYSE:NAT opened at $2.76 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 fifty day moving average of $2.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $583.37 million, a PE ratio of 9.50 and a beta of -0.27. Nordic American Tankers Limited has a fifty-two week low of $2.13 and a fifty-two week high of $4.40.

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The shipping company reported $0.01 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $51.38 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 26.41%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nordic American Tankers Limited will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nordic American Tankers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Nordic American Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

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.