Lazard Asset Management LLC Invests $1.82 Million in Torm Plc $TRMD

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 65,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,819,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TRMD. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Torm in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in Torm during the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in Torm during the third quarter valued at about $120,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Torm during the fourth quarter valued at about $121,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Torm in the second quarter worth about $190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Torm from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Pareto Securities downgraded shares of Torm from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Torm in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Insider Activity at Torm

In related news, CEO Jacob Balslev Meldgaard sold 170,133 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.30, for a total transaction of $5,495,295.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 348,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,253,675.30. The trade was a 32.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Torm Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:TRMD opened at $30.18 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $28.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Torm Plc has a 1-year low of $18.24 and a 1-year high of $35.33.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 28th. Torm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.00%.

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.