Mad Money Spotlight: Cramers' Tankers

HAMILTON, Bermuda (TheStreet) -- Nordic American Tanker(NAT Quote), the oil transporter, cut its dividend by 43%, posted a break-even second quarter, and cautioned Friday that shipping rates will likely remain highly volatile over the near term.

But Jim Cramer remains a fan of the company's stock. "I know a lot of people didn't like the Nordic American Tanker quarter, but I did," he said during the lighting round of his Friday "Mad Money" broadcast. "I still think that's the one you want over General Maritime(GMR Quote)."

On Friday, Nordic reported second-quarter net income of just $100,000, or nil per share, down from net income of $35.5 million, or $1.10 a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding one-time items, including expenses for a public offering of shares, the company had operating earnings of 9 cents a share.

According to Reuters, analysts were looking for Nordic to post a profit of 6 cents a share.

In a press release Friday, the company trumpeted the strength of its balance sheet and its overall financial stability. The company said its zero net debt plus the nearly $237 million it raised through the follow-on offering in May, means that it has the "flexibility" to expand its fleet beyond the 14 ships it currently operates, plus the two it has on order.

Nordic blamed the results and reduced dividend (from 88 cents a share to 50 cents) on slack demand and weak prices amid the recession. The average rate Nordic achieved on the spot market in the second quarter came to $26,300 a day, down from the $41,600 a day it was able to fetch even in the first quarter of the year.