Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $22.07, but opened at $23.00. Torm shares last traded at $22.9010, with a volume of 318,390 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Torm from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Torm Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 0.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.45.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $342.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.49 million. Torm had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 13.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Torm Plc will post 6.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Torm Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.9%. This is a boost from Torm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. Torm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Torm by 1,346.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 87,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,438,000 after acquiring an additional 81,251 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Torm by 39.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 16,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 4,776 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Torm by 66.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 26,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 10,522 shares during the last quarter. Commons Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Torm in the second quarter valued at $450,000. Finally, Tweedy Browne Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Torm in the second quarter valued at about $318,000. 73.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Torm

Torm A/S (NASDAQ: TRMD) is an international shipping company specializing in the transportation of refined petroleum products. The firm owns and operates a modern fleet of product tankers, including both Handysize and MR vessels, which are designed to carry a broad range of clean petroleum cargoes such as gasoline, jet fuel and diesel. Torm’s core business revolves around voyage and time-charter contracts with major oil companies, trading houses and other energy sector clients around the world.

The company’s fleet is deployed on global trade routes, with particular focus on major refining and consumption regions in Europe, North America and Asia.