Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 1,460,817 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 133% from the previous session’s volume of 626,903 shares.The stock last traded at $28.6530 and had previously closed at $30.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRMD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Torm from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Torm in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Torm presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Torm Trading Down 7.1%

The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12 and a beta of -0.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. Torm had a net margin of 21.29% and a return on equity of 13.26%. The business had revenue of $347.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.21 million. Analysts forecast that Torm Plc will post 6.27 EPS for the current year.

Torm Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from Torm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.8%. Torm’s dividend payout ratio is 63.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Torm

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Torm by 2.6% in the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in Torm by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 31,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Torm by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 83,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Glenorchy Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Torm by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Glenorchy Capital Ltd now owns 29,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Torm by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 17,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

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.