Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $34.32, but opened at $35.65. Torm shares last traded at $35.6150, with a volume of 392,472 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on TRMD. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Torm from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Torm from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Torm in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.00.

Torm Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.30. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 0.12.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $662.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $499.01 million. Torm had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 27.24%.

Torm Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were issued a $2.40 dividend. This is an increase from Torm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 26.9%. Torm’s payout ratio is 115.49%.

Insider Transactions at Torm

In other Torm news, CFO Kim Balle sold 7,533 shares of Torm stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total value of $273,824.55. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,538.50. The trade was a 93.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 42,533 shares of company stock valued at $1,643,225. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of TRMD. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Torm in the first quarter worth $67,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Torm during the fourth quarter worth $121,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Torm during the 1st quarter valued at $228,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Torm during the 1st quarter valued at $252,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Torm in the 2nd quarter valued at $267,000. 73.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Torm Company Profile

TORM plc is an international product tanker company that transports refined oil products and other energy-related cargoes by sea. Its vessels carry products such as gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and other clean petroleum products between production, storage and consumption markets.

The company operates a fleet of product tankers across several size categories, including long-range, medium-range and Handysize vessels. TORM provides seaborne transportation services to oil companies, trading houses and other commercial customers, with operations serving major shipping routes and energy markets worldwide.

TORM traces its history to 1889 and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.