TORM (NASDAQ:TRMD) Shares Down 1.6% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of TORM plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) fell 1.6% during trading on Friday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $37.00 to $32.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. TORM traded as low as $23.17 and last traded at $23.25. 282,093 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 771,616 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.63.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of TORM to a “hold” rating in a 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 research note on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in shares of TORM in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of TORM during the second quarter worth $43,000. Syquant Capital Sas acquired a new stake in shares of TORM during the second quarter worth $46,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in TORM by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in TORM during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. 73.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TORM Stock Performance

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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.64.

TORM (NASDAQ:TRMD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.03. TORM had a return on equity of 34.45% and a net margin of 43.81%. The firm had revenue of $437.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $325.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. On average, analysts expect that TORM plc will post 6.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TORM Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.876 per share. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. TORM’s payout ratio is 68.05%.

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.