Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.00.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Torm in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Torm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Fearnley Fonds raised Torm from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th.

Torm Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of Torm stock opened at $28.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 9.94 and a beta of -0.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.50. Torm has a 52-week low of $13.60 and a 52-week high of $31.76.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. Torm had a net margin of 21.29% and a return on equity of 13.26%. The company had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.21 million. On average, analysts expect that Torm will post 6.27 EPS for the current year.

Torm Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.9%. This is a positive change from Torm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Torm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TRMD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Torm in the 2nd quarter valued at $20,998,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Torm in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,523,000. Marnell Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Torm during the 4th quarter worth about $4,815,000. Fearnley Asset Management AS bought a new position in Torm during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,048,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Torm by 613.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 206,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,258,000 after purchasing an additional 177,551 shares during the last quarter. 73.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.