TORM (NASDAQ:TRMD) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of TORM plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $19.45, but opened at $20.23. TORM shares last traded at $20.44, with a volume of 433,555 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on TRMD. Fearnley Fonds upgraded TORM to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of TORM from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

TORM Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.66 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.85.

TORM Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.876 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.04%. TORM’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TORM

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TRMD. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in TORM by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 81,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,791,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of TORM by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of TORM during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in TORM by 7.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in TORM by 12.4% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

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.