Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Torm Plc $TRMD

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,245,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,830,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRMD. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in Torm during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,523,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Torm by 613.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 206,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,258,000 after buying an additional 177,551 shares in the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Torm in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,920,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Torm in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,375,000. Finally, Moore Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Torm in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,307,000. 73.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Torm Price Performance

Torm stock opened at $28.96 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.12. Torm Plc has a 1 year low of $16.36 and a 1 year high of $35.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.15). Torm had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 24.45%.The business had revenue of $402.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.43 million.

Torm Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.7%. Torm’s dividend payout ratio is 60.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on TRMD shares. Pareto Securities cut shares of Torm from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Torm from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Evercore set a $35.00 price target on shares of Torm in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.00.

Insider Activity at Torm

In related news, CEO Jacob Balslev Meldgaard sold 379,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.94, for a total value of $12,105,707.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 348,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,128,247.34. This represents a 52.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

About Torm

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.