Persistent Asset Partners Ltd Makes New Investment in Torm Plc $TRMD

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $599,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRMD. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 81,251 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Torm by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 16,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 4,776 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Torm by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Torm in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $190,000. 73.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Torm Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:TRMD opened at $29.72 on Wednesday. Torm Plc has a 52 week low of $16.36 and a 52 week high of $35.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $30.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.08.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $402.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $297.43 million. Torm had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 15.81%.

Torm Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 28th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. Torm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on TRMD. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Torm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Pareto Securities downgraded shares of Torm from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Evercore set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Torm in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Insider Activity at Torm

In related news, CEO Jacob Balslev Meldgaard sold 379,014 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.94, for a total value of $12,105,707.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 348,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,128,247.34. This trade represents a 52.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.