Cramer's 'Stop Trading!': Nordic American

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Jim Cramer was greeted by a surprise guest before Monday's "Stop Trading!" segment on CNBC: Nordic American Tanker(NAT Quote) CEO Herb Hansson.

Hansson emphasized that the company's dividend "varies with the level of the market." "We stick to our dividend policy," he said, "but you must remember, this is volatile."

He mentioned that the company bought a new ship just yesterday. "We don't have any debt," he said, "and also, we have confidence in our company." He said NAT is paying half what it paid a year ago for ships.

He told Cramer that it's important to remember that the only place to go from the bottom is up. He said there are two possible scenarios. The first is that "we are crawling along the bottom, being able to buy ships," and the second is that "the market improves, and we will make tons of money that we will pass on to shareholders. We essentially have it both ways."

According to Hansson, there are clear signs of a turnaround. "We see increased consumption of oil again," he said. "We will come on the sunny side again. How and when we will do that, I don't know, but we are optimistic."

Cramer called NAT "a coiled spring" and said that "if rates come back, it's going to make a lot more than ever."

"What matters is the long history of how much you've made being in the stock vs. others in the business," said Cramer. In NAT's case, that contrast is "dramatic," he said.