quantic69/iStock via Getty Images Nordic American Tankers ( NAT ) rallied 125% over the past year, making it one of the most visible tanker trades. The rally was driven by geopolitics, which forced longer shipping routes, which then elevated freight rates. The company's latest 20-F describes the current market conditions this way: "What is now unfolding is of historic proportions, and the Suezmax ...
quantic69/iStock via Getty Images Nordic American Tankers ( NAT ) rallied 125% over the past year, making it one of the most visible tanker trades. The rally was driven by geopolitics, which forced longer shipping routes, which then elevated freight rates. The company's latest 20-F describes the current market conditions this way: "What is now unfolding is of historic proportions, and the Suezmax spot market is setting records not seen in history before." The tanker market remains uniformly bullish, with peers like Frontline plc ( FRO ), DHT Holdings ( DHT ), and TORM plc ( TRMD ) all reporting exceptionally strong spot markets, higher booking rates, and favorable supply-demand situations. However, this all-around bullishness is changing the debate around Nordic American Tankers, making peer comparison the central focus of an investment decision. NAT's story may become clearer when it reports earnings later this month. Investors will want to understand management commentary on current Suezmax spot rates, whether their current freight strength can optimize for the bullish demand, and what they think about the durability of the Middle East shipping disruptions. In this article, I compare Nordic American Tankers against the above-named peers. The metrics I look at are valuation, dividend profile, management strategy, and market positioning. I remain broadly positive on the tanker sector itself; however, the peers appear more attractive on one or the other of these metrics. I therefore maintain a Hold rating on NAT. Why Tanker Stocks Are Rallying A number of tailwinds have come together to cause the "historic" rally in tanker stocks. TCE rates were already elevated late last year. As NAT management describes it, the US blockage of Venezuelan oil forced the "shadow fleet" out of the equation: "The increased pressure on the shadow fleet of tankers, as well as the US pressure on buyers of sanctioned oil, has shifted a lot more oil volume into the compliant fleet of tankers...
A fan of Korean boy band BTS poses for a photo in front of a poster at Tokyo Dome before the start of the first BTS World Tour 'Arirang' in Tokyo on April 17, 2026. Tens of thousands of fans awaited excitedly outside the landmark Tokyo stadium to watch BTS in their first concert outside South Korea after the K-pop megastars kicked off their world tour. (Photo by Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via...
A fan of Korean boy band BTS poses for a photo in front of a poster at Tokyo Dome before the start of the first BTS World Tour 'Arirang' in Tokyo on April 17, 2026. Tens of thousands of fans awaited excitedly outside the landmark Tokyo stadium to watch BTS in their first concert outside South Korea after the K-pop megastars kicked off their world tour. (Photo by Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images) Andrew Caballero-reynolds | Afp | Getty Images News that globally popular boy band BTS will headline the first ever halftime show at the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final, performing alongside Madonna and Shakira, helped send shares of South Korea's largest K-pop agency Hybe soaring 7.2%. The show announcement, made on the World Cup's Instagram account, helped Hybe gain 7.16%, or over 700 billion won ($470 million) in market value on Thursday. BTS released new music in March, part of a comeback now that all their members have returned from South Korean military service, which is mandatory. The group's return was marked by a free concert in Seoul on March 21 that was livestreamed on Netflix , drawing 18.4 million viewers globally. It was No. 1 in 24 countries. The septet also released their 10th studio album titled "Arirang," which became BTS' seventh consecutive album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. It reportedly sold 4 million copies on its first day alone, and topped album charts in 115 countries and regions around the world on Apple Music. BTS is currently on an eponymous world tour which started on April 9 and will span 85 dates in 23 countries. GOYANG, SOUTH KOREA - APRIL 09: Fans of K-pop boy band BTS wait in line for the BTS World Tour 'Arirang' at Goyang stadium on April 09, 2026 in Goyang, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) Chung Sung-jun | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
MicroStockHub/iStock via Getty Images Snowflake ( SNOW ) is a cloud-based data platform company that helps enterprises store, manage, and analyze data at scale through its AI “Data Cloud” architecture. Their core business runs on a consumption-based model, meaning customers pay based on actual usage of compute, storage, and data services rather than traditional fixed software licenses. This has he...
MicroStockHub/iStock via Getty Images Snowflake ( SNOW ) is a cloud-based data platform company that helps enterprises store, manage, and analyze data at scale through its AI “Data Cloud” architecture. Their core business runs on a consumption-based model, meaning customers pay based on actual usage of compute, storage, and data services rather than traditional fixed software licenses. This has helped drive strong customer expansion amidst rapidly accelerating artificial intelligence adoption and increased enterprise data volumes. They serve companies in many industries including financial, advertising, entertainment, retail, healthcare, technology, and travel. Seeking Alpha The stock has had a rocky and rough road since its IPO in 2020. Since last fall, share price has dropped by 45%, even while industry trends remain structurally strong in the cloud and AI fields. The fiscal year 2026 report was quite optimistic from management, and analysts alike. The downward trend for the stock has powered through any positivity making the buildup to the upcoming Q1 2027 earnings ever more important. I am giving SNOW a sell. Since the Q4 '26 earnings call the stock is another 12% lower, with investors focused on continued large net losses and concerns that AI-related spending and competitive pressures could compress margins despite revenue beating expectations. The industry has momentum, and I do expect another encouraging report for Q1; however, I think there are better tech stocks to choose from. Operating expenses are weighing too heavily on margins and a slowdown here is not necessarily in sight. Valuation being raised with average growth is not the best signal, and the cloud space is getting competitive with mega-cap heavyweights. The Optimism? Stock Story Revenue is fast-growing for SNOW and was at $4.68 billion in 2026. They are not having a problem gaining customers and obtaining future sales, but customer retention has dropped. Sales growth has slowed dramatically over...
E.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF) stock has been a huge disappointment to investors over the past few years. Despite strong growth and a solid brand that's capturing market share, the stock has struggled amid macroeconomic headwinds, including tariffs and oil-related issues. The stock is down 27% year to date. E.l.f. reports earnings on May 20. Is now the time to buy? Image source: E.l.f. Beauty. Continue...
E.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF) stock has been a huge disappointment to investors over the past few years. Despite strong growth and a solid brand that's capturing market share, the stock has struggled amid macroeconomic headwinds, including tariffs and oil-related issues. The stock is down 27% year to date. E.l.f. reports earnings on May 20. Is now the time to buy? Image source: E.l.f. Beauty. Continue reading
格隆汇5月14日｜路透调查显示，随着原油价格持续高企，印尼盾和印度卢比面临的抛售压力进一步加剧，而其他大多数亚洲货币的空头头寸则小幅减少。根据对10位受访者的调查，交易员的印尼盾空头头寸恶化至2022年10月下旬以来的首次水平，而对印度卢比的做空押注则保持自2025年6月中旬以来的态势。“在政策反应函数变得难以捉摸的市场环境下，投资者正寻求补偿。”澳大利亚Global X ETFs投资策略师Bil...
格隆汇5月14日｜路透调查显示，随着原油价格持续高企，印尼盾和印度卢比面临的抛售压力进一步加剧，而其他大多数亚洲货币的空头头寸则小幅减少。根据对10位受访者的调查，交易员的印尼盾空头头寸恶化至2022年10月下旬以来的首次水平，而对印度卢比的做空押注则保持自2025年6月中旬以来的态势。“在政策反应函数变得难以捉摸的市场环境下，投资者正寻求补偿。”澳大利亚Global X ETFs投资策略师Billy Leung表示，“作为能源净进口国，当前的油价背景给经常账带来压力，并限制了印尼央行捍卫已跌破17,000关口的汇率的回旋余地。”相比之下，其他多数亚洲货币的看跌头寸有所缓解：做空韩元的头寸降至2月中旬以来最低水平，做空泰铢的头寸则降至3月下旬以来最低水平。
财联社5月14日讯（编辑 黄君芝） 就在凯文·沃什即将接管美联储的前两日，美联储官员接连释放“鹰派”信号。明尼阿波利斯联邦储备银行（Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis）行长卡什卡利（Neel Kashkari）周三重申，目前通胀过高，需要将通胀率恢复到2%。 当天，他在明尼苏达州圣保罗地区举办的一场商会活动上指出，与今年早些时候相比，美国劳动力市场似乎略有改善，...
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Casey's General Stores ( CASY ) has been on a tear for the past few years, even in a sector that has almost nothing to do with tech or AI, but the market is getting too optimistic too quickly, and has pushed the share price up too high for me to consider it a buy. They are a US gas station chain that was founded in the late 1960s. It's a classic Ameri...
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Casey's General Stores ( CASY ) has been on a tear for the past few years, even in a sector that has almost nothing to do with tech or AI, but the market is getting too optimistic too quickly, and has pushed the share price up too high for me to consider it a buy. They are a US gas station chain that was founded in the late 1960s. It's a classic American story of a single location in Boone, Iowa, that has now grown to almost 3,000 stores. The company is the 3rd largest convenience store/gas station chain in the US, and also the 5th largest pizza maker in the US by volume. Below is their long-term share price performance: Data by YCharts Now let's compare their return metrics. I've chosen to use their gas station/convenience store peers as their competitors, not pizza companies: Company Revenue 10-Year CAGR Median 10-Year ROE Median 10-Year ROIC EPS 10-Year CAGR FCF 10-Year CAGR Casey General Stores 8.2% 7.9% 10.6% 15% 41% Alimentation Couche-Tard ( ANCTF ) 8.9% 15.8% 11.5% 14.9% 12.9% Murphy USA ( MUSA ) 8.8% 24.5% 8.3% 15.4% 15% Arko Corp ( ARKO )* 19% 6% 5% n/a 18% Seven & i Holdings ( SVNDY ) 5% 5.7% 4.8% 3% 4% Click to enlarge *5-year While not 100% vertically integrated—fuel delivery, for example, is outsourced—they own their regional distribution centers, which help keep quality control high on their prepared foods. Fuel makes up the majority of their revenue but is their lowest gross margin area. Prepared food, on the other hand, is only around 11% of revenue but has by far the best margins of any part of their business. I don't want to sound too simplistic, but the prepared food, especially the pizza, is a huge part of why the business as a whole is so successful today. Pizza itself has wonderful margins, and Casey's as a brand has become associated as essentially a pizza place that also happens to be a gas station. Capital Allocation Let's see how capital has been allocated the past decade, in USD millions: Yea...