Nordic American Tankers shares are up big after its first quarter results beat analyst expectations.
The Herbjorn Hansson-led shipowner was trading up more than 16%, or $0.36, to $2.56 in midday trading Wednesday after it reported $5.6m in profit for the first tree months of 2019 after the close Tuesday.
The performance was good for $0.04 earnings per share, besting the consensus estimate by three cents. The company hailed the results as its best performance in nearly three years.
In a note Wednesday morning, B Riley FBR analyst Liam Burke reiterated his buy rating while raising the price target $0.50 to $4.75.
"With its concentration in suezmax class vessels operating primarily in the spot market, Nordic American has, in our opinion, the asset base in place to capitalize on an improving supply/demand dynamic that is seeing steadily rising worldwide demand for crude oil and refined products," Burke wrote in a Wednesday morning note.
Burke also shares the company's belief that the IMO 2020 emissions regulations will create more demand for tankers.
He said spot rates for the second quarter have taken a dip, but should rebound.
"Nordic American is positioned for a solid second half of 2019," Burke said.
