TORM (NASDAQ:TRMD) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

TORM plc (NASDAQ:TRMD - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $17.42, but opened at $17.89. TORM shares last traded at $17.85, with a volume of 129,961 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRMD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of TORM from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of TORM from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of TORM from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Pareto Securities raised shares of TORM from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.50.

TORM Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.13. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $16.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.28.

TORM (NASDAQ:TRMD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.02). TORM had a net margin of 43.81% and a return on equity of 34.45%. The business had revenue of $214.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $244.25 million. On average, research analysts predict that TORM plc will post 6.27 EPS for the current year.

TORM Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 22nd. TORM's payout ratio is 24.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TORM

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRMD. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of TORM in the first quarter worth about $69,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of TORM by 1,712.3% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,292 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of TORM by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,859 shares of the company's stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939 shares during the period. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of TORM in the first quarter worth about $167,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of TORM by 4,694.8% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 10,213 shares of the company's stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. 73.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TORM Company Profile

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.