Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TRMD shares. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Torm in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Torm from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Torm from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.00.

Torm Stock Up 4.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.30. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 0.12.

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

Torm Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Torm news, CFO Kim Balle sold 20,000 shares of Torm stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.16, for a total transaction of $783,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 23,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $902,363.88. This trade represents a 46.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 42,533 shares of company stock worth $1,643,225 over the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Torm

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in Torm by 180.7% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 22,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 14,300 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Torm during the second quarter worth about $267,000. denkapparat Operations GmbH grew its stake in Torm by 63.8% during the second quarter. denkapparat Operations GmbH now owns 23,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 9,064 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Torm by 37.3% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 28,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 7,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Torm by 75.3% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 15,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 6,501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

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.