Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on TORM (NASDAQ:TRMD)

TORM plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 4,310 call options on the company. This is an increase of 400% compared to the average volume of 862 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TORM

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of TORM by 860.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,429,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,441,000 after buying an additional 1,281,176 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in TORM by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,266,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,315,000 after acquiring an additional 32,500 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of TORM by 320.5% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,189,000 after acquiring an additional 964,801 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of TORM by 7.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,179,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,221,000 after purchasing an additional 85,937 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of TORM by 38.9% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 669,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,945,000 after purchasing an additional 187,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TRMD shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on TORM from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Fearnley Fonds raised TORM to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th.

TORM Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of TORM stock opened at $21.72 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.33. TORM has a fifty-two week low of $21.52 and a fifty-two week high of $40.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.47.

TORM Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.876 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.13%. TORM’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.