Anyway, I am surprised that Nordic American Tanker NAT could pay 88¢ for the first quarter, up a penny from the 4th quarter of 2008. Tanker spot rates have been declining all year, but the slippage did start in earnest near the end of the 1st quarter and into the 2nd. NAT earned an average of $41,600 per day on each of their vessels during the 1st quarter. My watching of the Suezmax spot rates has them dropping below $30k around the end of March.
The good news is that NAT has a breakeven cost of around $10k per day so their will be some sort of 2nd quarter distribution. I would not be surprised if it is near the 40¢ low payout of the last several years.
Good news is that Nordic American has contracted to buy another Suezmax tanker for cash. Company policy is that new acquisitions must be positive for the dividend. Let us hope so.
The share price has had a nice runup over the last 10 days and there is a temptation to take some money off the table and re-enter when the investing public gets a hint of the next quarter’s payout. The risk is that NAT will be able to sustain the payout near the current level the stock price does not decline. Make your own decision.
Nordic American tanker pays surprising dividend
NORDIC AMERICAN TANKER SHIPPING LTD..
Anyway, I am surprised that Nordic American Tanker NAT could pay 88¢ for the first quarter, up a penny from the 4th quarter of 2008. Tanker spot rates have been declining all year, but the slippage did start in earnest near the end of the 1st quarter and into the 2nd. NAT earned an average of $41,600 per day on each of their vessels during the 1st quarter. My watching of the Suezmax spot rates has them dropping below $30k around the end of March.
The good news is that NAT has a breakeven cost of around $10k per day so their will be some sort of 2nd quarter distribution. I would not be surprised if it is near the 40¢ low payout of the last several years.
Good news is that Nordic American has contracted to buy another Suezmax tanker for cash. Company policy is that new acquisitions must be positive for the dividend. Let us hope so.
The share price has had a nice runup over the last 10 days and there is a temptation to take some money off the table and re-enter when the investing public gets a hint of the next quarter’s payout. The risk is that NAT will be able to sustain the payout near the current level the stock price does not decline. Make your own decision.
Note: I have a personal stock position in NAT.