Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . 1,690,039 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 109% from the previous session’s volume of 808,414 shares.The stock last traded at $28.5130 and had previously closed at $30.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TRMD. Evercore set a $35.00 price objective on Torm in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Torm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Pareto Securities cut Torm from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Torm Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 0.08.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.15). Torm had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 15.81%. The business had revenue of $402.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.43 million.

Torm Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.7%. Torm’s payout ratio is 60.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jacob Balslev Meldgaard sold 379,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.94, for a total transaction of $12,105,707.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 348,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,128,247.34. This trade represents a 52.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP bought a new position in Torm during the third quarter worth $35,000. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in Torm in the first quarter valued at $67,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new position in shares of Torm during the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Torm during the third quarter valued at about $120,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Torm during the 4th quarter worth about $121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

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.