DHT Holdings At A Discount To NAV; Morgan Stanley Downgrades

Morgan Stanley has downgraded DHT Holdings Inc DHT to Equal Weight from Overweight, as it is valued at discount to its current $5.5–$6/share NAV amid chaallenging near-term market outlook for crude tankers against the slow global oil production.

"Crude tanker demand lags supply in 2017–18 wiping out DHT's earnings, but remains cash flow positive. Tanker demand weakens in 2017 while rates fall below average market breakeven levels," analyst Fotis Giannakoulis wrote in a note.

The analyst expects VLCCs to earn on average $27/$30kpd in 2017/18 as market starts improving toward 2H18.

Related Link: Morgan Stanley Tethers Euronav, Downgrades To Equal Weight

The analyst noted that, despite lack of earnings, the company's liquidity generation allows it to pay small dividends during the stronger winter quarters. The company pays at least 60 percent of ordinary net income to shareholders as dividend.

"Given the low stock liquidity and possible further decline in second hand values, the stock trades slightly below its current NAV of ~$5.5/share," the analyst said.

Shares of DHT closed Wednesday's regular trading at $4.72. The analyst cut the price target to $5.5 from $7.

Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro.

Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email feedback@benzinga.com with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!