TORM (NASDAQ:TRMD) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Here’s Why

TORM plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) traded down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $31.77 and last traded at $31.78. 163,614 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 711,594 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of TORM to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on TORM from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

TORM Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $35.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

TORM (NASDAQ:TRMD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $437.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.38 million. TORM had a net margin of 43.81% and a return on equity of 36.06%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that TORM plc will post 7.1 EPS for the current year.

TORM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This is a boost from TORM’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 22.76%. TORM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TORM

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRMD. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of TORM by 860.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,429,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,176 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in TORM by 320.5% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,189,000 after purchasing an additional 964,801 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in TORM during the second quarter worth approximately $9,619,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TORM by 38.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 669,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,945,000 after purchasing an additional 187,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of TORM by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,179,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,221,000 after buying an additional 85,937 shares during the period. 73.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About TORM

TORM plc, a shipping company, owns and operates a fleet of product tankers in the United Kingdom. It operates in two operating segments, Tanker and Marine Exhaust. The Tanker segment transports refined oil products, such as gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, naphtha, and gas oil, as well as dirty petroleum products, including fuel oil.