Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday. 648,506 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 33% from the previous session’s volume of 968,866 shares. The stock last traded at $40.0830 and had previously closed at $38.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Torm in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Torm from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Torm from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Torm has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.00.

Torm Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $33.88 and its 200-day moving average is $31.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Torm Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $2.40 per share. This represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 24.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. This is a positive change from Torm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Torm’s payout ratio is presently 115.49%.

Insider Transactions at Torm

In other Torm news, CFO Kim Balle sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.16, for a total value of $783,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 23,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $902,363.88. This represents a 46.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,533 shares of company stock valued at $1,643,225. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Torm

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Torm in the first quarter worth approximately $67,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Torm during the first quarter worth $228,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Torm during the first quarter worth $252,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Torm during the second quarter worth $267,000. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. acquired a new position in Torm in the first quarter valued at $396,000. Institutional investors own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

About Torm

TORM plc is a Denmark-based international shipping company that owns and operates product tankers. The company transports refined petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and naphtha, as well as other clean petroleum and chemical products for customers worldwide.

TORM manages a fleet of tankers across several size classes, including medium-range and larger vessels. Its activities cover commercial and technical vessel management, chartering, and the transportation of liquid cargoes between major production, refining and consumption markets.

Founded in 1889, TORM has its roots in Denmark and has developed into a global product tanker operator serving routes across the Atlantic, Pacific, Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions.