Dahlman Rose Reiterates Hold Rating on Knightsbridge Tankers (VLCCF)

Dahlman Rose is out with a research report this afternoon, where it reiterates its Hold rating on Knightsbridge Tankers (NASDAQ: VLCCF); it did nto provide a price target for the stock.

The DR analysts noted that VLCCF's earnings were a bit lighter than expected due mainly to weaker spot results for the 1995-built Mayfair VLCC. The vessel has since been placed on a 5-yr bareboat charter at a TCE of $32,000/day, but it appears to have earned below $20,000/day during 3Q10.

The analysts said, “The company sits with a comfortable cash position and is only 20% levered on a LTV basis…Accordingly, we believe the dividend has room to grow further and believe a boost to $0.55 quarterly is in the works once it puts its capital to work. While we maintain our Hold rating, we believe investors will continue to benefit from a strong and growing yield.”