Short Interest in Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) Drops By 38.5%

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 655,620 shares, a decline of 38.5% from the June 30th total of 1,065,543 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 573,255 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Torm Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TRMD opened at $29.87 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 0.10. Torm has a 52-week low of $18.00 and a 52-week high of $35.33.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. Torm’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRMD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of Torm in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Pareto Securities lowered shares of Torm from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Torm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Insider Activity at Torm

In other news, CEO Jacob Balslev Meldgaard sold 170,133 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.30, for a total value of $5,495,295.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 348,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,253,675.30. This represents a 32.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Torm

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in Torm by 275.8% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 91,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,785,000 after purchasing an additional 66,992 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Torm in the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,830,000. Folketrygdfondet boosted its holdings in shares of Torm by 174.0% in the fourth quarter. Folketrygdfondet now owns 238,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,673,000 after buying an additional 151,563 shares during the last quarter. Fearnley Asset Management AS bought a new stake in Torm during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,048,000. Finally, Marnell Management LLC purchased a new stake in Torm during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,815,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

About Torm

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.