TORM (NASDAQ:TRMD) Trading 3.2% Higher – Time to Buy?

TORM plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) shot up 3.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $18.80 and last traded at $18.65. 456,307 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 827,589 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TRMD. Fearnley Fonds raised TORM to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on TORM from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

TORM Trading Up 3.1 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

TORM Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.876 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.82%. TORM’s payout ratio is 45.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of TORM by 860.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,429,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,441,000 after buying an additional 1,281,176 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in TORM by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,266,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,315,000 after acquiring an additional 32,500 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in TORM by 320.5% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,189,000 after acquiring an additional 964,801 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in TORM by 38.9% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 669,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,945,000 after acquiring an additional 187,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of TORM by 65.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 384,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,140,000 after purchasing an additional 151,942 shares during the period. 73.89% of the stock is 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.