Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 1,460,817 shares were traded during 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports 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. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Torm in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Torm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Torm has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Torm Trading Down 2.6%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.94 and a beta of -0.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $347.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $236.21 million. Torm had a return on equity of 13.26% and a net margin of 21.29%. On average, analysts anticipate that Torm Plc will post 6.27 EPS for the current year.

Torm Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.9%. Torm’s payout ratio is presently 63.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Torm

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRMD. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Torm by 2.6% in the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Torm by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 31,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Torm by 0.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 83,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,385,000 after buying an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Glenorchy Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Torm by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 17,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

Torm Company Profile

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.