Nordic American Tankers (NAT) board vice chairman Alexander Hansson really believes in the company his father leads.
The Monaco-based shipping scion bought 50,000 more shares in the New York-listed suezmax specialist on Thursday and has now spent about $3.61m on 900,000 shares this year.
The latest deal was Hansson’s sixth purchase of the stock this year.
It also coincides with NAT shares sliding from $4.27 at the beginning of the year to $3.59 on Thursday.
The company has had a turbulent second quarter, according to its latest earnings report, where it narrowly beat analyst consensus but its shares were downgraded as its $40,000 per day average spot rates trailed its rivals.
Analysts said competitors’ fleets were generating higher rates and that the age of the fleet creates complications moving forward.
On a rare conference call, chief executive — and Alexander Hansson’s father — Herbjorn Hansson argued investors focus too much on the value of the company’s fleet rather than the returns generated.
He said the company trades ships then gets rid of them at the end of their useful lives, and that it was having no trouble trading its older ships.
Still, he said he would sell the fleet at the right price but doubted that a buyer would snap them up.
He and his family remain the largest non-institutional shareholders.
