UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Downgrades Teekay Tankers to Underweight on Dividend Capacity Challenges

Morgan Stanley lowered its rating on Teekay Tankers

from Equal-weight to Underweight. Morgan Stanley commented, "We expect TNK to continue to pay a dividend, but its capacity is expected to come under the pressure of the low tanker rates, coupled with its expiring charters and its increasing fleet leverage. We estimate that during 2013, TNK's daily average rate will drop ~15% from its 2012 levels as charters rollover at lower rates and nearly 65% of its fleet will be open for rechartering growing to 75% in 2014. We therefore expect, TNK's annual dividend to decline to ~$0.30 in 2013 from an annualized distribution of $0.44 in 2Q12. Every $1k in market rates affects the dividend by ~$0.04." Teekay Tankers closed at $3.51 on Friday.