Trustmark Co. (NASDAQ:TRMK) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Trustmark Co. (NASDAQ:TRMK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,780,000 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the February 13th total of 1,470,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 289,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.2 days.

Trustmark Stock Performance

TRMK stock opened at $34.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.71. Trustmark has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $40.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.46.

Trustmark (NASDAQ:TRMK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.09. Trustmark had a return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 19.42%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Trustmark will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trustmark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Trustmark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Trustmark’s payout ratio is currently 26.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Trustmark

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Trustmark by 124.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 125,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,001,000 after buying an additional 69,779 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Trustmark by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 598,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,059,000 after buying an additional 37,989 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Trustmark by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 122,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,912,000 after purchasing an additional 11,934 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Trustmark by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,090,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,355,000 after purchasing an additional 24,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Trustmark by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,461,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,515,000 after purchasing an additional 15,627 shares in the last quarter. 67.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TRMK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Trustmark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Trustmark from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Trustmark from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.67.

About Trustmark

Trustmark Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Trustmark National Bank that provides banking and other financial solutions to individuals and corporate institutions in the United States. The company operates through three segments: General Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance. It offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; certificates of deposits and individual retirement accounts; financing for commercial and industrial projects, income-producing commercial real estate, owner-occupied real estate, and construction and land development; and installment and real estate loans, and lines of credit, as well as treasury management services.