Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 474,084 shares, a growth of 48.0% from the February 12th total of 320,369 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 620,692 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 620,692 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Torm Price Performance

Shares of Torm stock opened at $24.27 on Monday. Torm has a twelve month low of $13.60 and a twelve month high of $31.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.55 and a beta of -0.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $25.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.73.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $347.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.21 million. Torm had a return on equity of 13.26% and a net margin of 21.29%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Torm will post 6.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Torm Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This is an increase from Torm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Torm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fearnley Asset Management AS acquired a new position in Torm during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,048,000. Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Torm by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 17,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Torm by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Torm by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 54,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 8,595 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Torm in the 4th quarter valued at $1,290,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on TRMD. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Torm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Torm in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Torm currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.00.

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.