Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Dividend Announcement

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. 894,590 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 17% from the previous session’s volume of 766,305 shares.The stock last traded at $30.48 and had previously closed at $31.47.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $2.40 dividend. This represents a $9.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 30.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This is a positive change from Torm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Torm’s dividend payout ratio is 60.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TRMD. Pareto Securities lowered Torm from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Torm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Torm in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.00.

Torm Trading Up 5.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.09. 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 50 day moving average price of $29.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.22.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $662.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $499.01 million. Torm had a return on equity of 28.29% and a net margin of 35.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Torm

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Torm in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in Torm during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in Torm in the first quarter worth approximately $67,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in Torm in the third quarter worth approximately $120,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Torm in the fourth quarter worth approximately $121,000. Hedge funds and other 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.