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

Shares of Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) gapped up before the market opened 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Torm from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

Torm Stock Up 3.0%

The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 0.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.45.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.17. Torm had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 13.03%. The firm had revenue of $342.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.49 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Torm Plc will post 6.27 EPS for the current year.

Torm Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.9%. This is a boost from Torm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Torm’s payout ratio is presently 66.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Torm

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TRMD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Torm by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,329,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,960,000 after buying an additional 94,175 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Torm during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,998,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in Torm in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,523,000. Lind Value II ApS bought a new position in Torm in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,283,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Torm by 613.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 206,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,258,000 after purchasing an additional 177,551 shares in the last quarter. 73.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.