TORM (NASDAQ:TRMD) Shares Down 4.9% – Here’s Why

TORM plc (NASDAQ:TRMD)’s share price was down 4.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $27.52 and last traded at $27.72. Approximately 913,220 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 27% from the average daily volume of 721,288 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on TRMD shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on TORM from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of TORM to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th.

TORM Trading Down 5.9 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.30 and a 200 day moving average of $35.75. The firm has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

TORM (NASDAQ:TRMD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.03. TORM had a net margin of 43.81% and a return on equity of 36.06%. The company had revenue of $437.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that TORM plc will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current year.

TORM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 26.24%. This is a boost from TORM’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. TORM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TORM

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TRMD. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in TORM by 860.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,429,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,176 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in TORM by 320.5% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,189,000 after purchasing an additional 964,801 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in TORM by 7.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,179,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,221,000 after buying an additional 85,937 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of TORM by 38.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 669,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,945,000 after acquiring an additional 187,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in TORM by 2.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 355,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,769,000 after purchasing an additional 8,185 shares during the period. 73.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About TORM

TORM plc, a shipping company, owns and operates a fleet of product tankers in the United Kingdom. It operates in two operating segments, Tanker and Marine Exhaust. The Tanker segment transports refined oil products, such as gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, naphtha, and gas oil, as well as dirty petroleum products, including fuel oil.