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

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 657,093 shares, a decline of 56.1% from the September 30th total of 1,497,540 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,421,529 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days.

Torm Stock Performance

NASDAQ TRMD traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,117,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,042,274. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.58. Torm has a 12 month low of $19.30 and a 12 month high of $43.31.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $662.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $499.01 million. Torm had a return on equity of 27.24% and a net margin of 35.51%.

Torm Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a dividend of $2.40 per share. This represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 22.5%. This is a positive change from Torm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. Torm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.49%.

Insider Transactions at Torm

In other Torm news, CFO Kim Balle sold 20,000 shares of Torm stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.16, for a total transaction of $783,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 23,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $902,363.88. The trade was a 46.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 42,533 shares of company stock worth $1,643,225. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Torm

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TRMD. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Torm by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,064,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,032,000 after purchasing an additional 21,280 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in Torm during the first quarter worth about $7,705,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Torm by 209.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 130,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,639,000 after acquiring an additional 88,318 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Torm by 5.6% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 122,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,482,000 after acquiring an additional 6,483 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Torm during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,632,000. Institutional investors own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on TRMD shares. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Torm in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Torm from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Torm from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $38.00.

About Torm

TORM plc is a maritime transportation company that owns and operates a fleet of product tankers. The company primarily transports refined petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and naphtha, connecting refineries, storage facilities and distribution markets around the world.

TORM’s fleet serves the global clean-product tanker market and includes vessels in several size categories, such as long-range and medium-range tankers. Its vessels operate on international trade routes, supporting the movement of energy products between major production and consumption regions.

Founded in Denmark in 1889, TORM has grown into an international shipping company headquartered in Copenhagen.