Record low that is! Nordic American Tanker NAT will pay a thin dime of a dividend for the 3rd quarter. NAT is a small tanker company with a fleet of suezmax tankers. The company employs their ships on the spot tanker market and pays a quarterly dividend based on what the revenues are for the quarter. Dividends have fluctuated greatly over the 12 years the company has been in business, but the yield has averaged over 10% and someone owning the shares since inception would have earned close to $40 just in distributions.
NAT does not have any debt and has the lowest overhead of any tanker company. Before this 10¢ payout the dividend has fluctuated between 40¢ and $1.88 over the last 5 years. During the current economic and shipping rate crisis Nordic American has been picking up used-late model suezmax tankers at about $50 mil. a pop and has increased the fleet size by about 50%.
I believe NAT is a great long-term investment for those who like to collect nice dividends. I am hoping this dividend slash will cause some share price erosion. I would love to pick up some more shares in the $20 range.
One Comment
NAT actually gained a little on announcing the minuscule dividend, much to my chagrin, as my policy is to dump slashers promptly.
I think I will stay out until the picture for tankers clarifies a bit.