Clarksons Platou Maintains Buy On Teekay Tankers, Says Dividend Is At Bottom Range Of Expectations

Teekay Tankers Ltd. TNK reported Q1 adjusted EPS of $0.29 compared with estimates for $0.37. Clarksons Platou says the primary driver of the depressed earnings has been attributed to higher vessel operating costs than the firm had expected. Operating costs for the quarter came in at $45.1 million versus Clarksons forecast of $40.5 million.

Ship rates for Suezmax have been fixed at $33,700/day compared with prior average rates of $32,000/day. Aframax continues to struggle though with day rates at $24,100/day compared with an average of $28,000/day over the quarter.

Clarksons remains positive on Teekay Tankers, maintaining an Outperform rating and $12 price target. The firms see Teekay managing balanced tanker exposure alongside spot exposure as a potential driver for strong cash flows through the rest of 2016.

Shares of Teekay Tankers fell 8.3 percent Thursday, closing the regular session at $3.57.