What happened

Shares of oil tanker owner Nordic American Tankers (NYSE: NAT) jumped by as much as 27.6% in trading on Monday after it was announced that an insider was buying shares. The stock closed the session up 26% at $2.42.

So what

The big news was that on Monday, board of directors member Alexander Hansson -- son of founder and CEO Herbjorn Hansson -- bought 250,000 shares of Nordic American stock for $2.05 per share. He now owns 1.44 million shares. The Hansson family, as a group, continues to constitute the largest private stakeholder in the company.

Image source: Getty Images.

Alexander Hansson's purchase came on the heels of the delivery of the company's fourth-quarter earnings report Friday. Nordic American Tankers booked voyage revenue of $22.6 million in the period, up from $16.3 million a year earlier, and a net loss of $21.0 million. The results are hardly impressive, but with oil prices high and demand rising around the world, it's possible the company will be a recovery story in the coming years.

Now what

Results are pretty weak in the oil tanker market, but that could turn around quickly given global trends. Unrest in Eastern Europe is causing energy concerns there, we're seeing rising demand in the U.S., and production growth isn't likely to keep up. That could help the tanker business, and Alexander Hansson is betting that it will help Nordic American Tankers' stock. Investors apparently agreed with his assessment Monday.

10 stocks we like better than Nordic American Tankers
When our award-winning analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

They just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Nordic American Tankers wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

See the 10 stocks

*Stock Advisor returns as of January 20, 2022

Travis Hoium has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.