Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 1,460,817 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 133% from the previous session’s volume of 626,903 shares.The stock last traded at $28.6530 and had previously closed at $30.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRMD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Torm from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Torm in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

Torm Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12 and a beta of -0.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.40.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. Torm had a return on equity of 13.26% and a net margin of 21.29%.The firm had revenue of $347.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.21 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Torm Plc will post 6.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Torm Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Torm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.8%. Torm’s payout ratio is 63.73%.

Institutional Trading of Torm

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new position in Torm during the fourth quarter worth about $4,048,000. Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in Torm by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 17,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Torm by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 2,089 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Torm by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 54,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 8,595 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Torm in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,290,000. 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.