Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) Short Interest Up 225.1% in May

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 1,868,749 shares, an increase of 225.1% from the May 14th total of 574,838 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,008,919 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Torm Stock Performance

Shares of TRMD stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $28.95. 624,367 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 807,949. Torm has a 12 month low of $16.36 and a 12 month high of $35.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $30.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 0.08.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $402.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $297.43 million. Torm had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 15.81%.

Torm Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 28th. Torm’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on TRMD. Pareto Securities downgraded Torm from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Evercore set a $35.00 target price on shares of Torm in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Torm from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.00.

Insider Transactions at Torm

In other Torm news, CEO Jacob Balslev Meldgaard sold 379,014 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.94, for a total value of $12,105,707.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 348,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,128,247.34. This represents a 52.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Torm

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Torm by 2.6% during the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Torm by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 31,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Torm by 3.3% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 15,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Torm by 0.5% during the first quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 91,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Torm by 0.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 83,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

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.