Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $23.70 and last traded at $23.6720, with a volume of 548176 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TRMD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Torm from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Torm has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

Torm Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.23 and a 200 day moving average of $20.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.04.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.17. Torm had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 21.37%.The company had revenue of $342.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.49 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Torm Plc will post 6.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Torm Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were paid a $0.62 dividend. This is a boost from Torm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.5%. Torm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.54%.

Institutional Trading of Torm

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Torm during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new stake in Torm in the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in Torm in the third quarter worth about $120,000. Weaver Consulting Group acquired a new position in Torm in the second quarter worth approximately $167,000. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Torm in the third quarter valued at $214,000. 73.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Torm Company Profile

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.