Short Interest in Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) Declines By 45.7%

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) saw a large decrease in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,015,404 shares, a decrease of 45.7% from the May 31st total of 1,868,749 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 693,716 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Torm from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Evercore set a $35.00 target price on Torm in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Pareto Securities downgraded Torm from a “hold” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Torm has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Insider Activity at Torm

In other news, CEO Jacob Balslev Meldgaard sold 379,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.94, for a total transaction of $12,105,707.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 348,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,128,247.34. This trade represents a 52.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Torm

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Torm in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in Torm during the 1st quarter worth about $67,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new stake in Torm in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Torm in the third quarter worth about $120,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Torm in the fourth quarter worth about $121,000. 73.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Torm Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TRMD traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $26.33. 198,332 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 846,776. Torm has a twelve month low of $16.75 and a twelve month high of $35.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.90. 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 company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.08.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $402.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.43 million. Torm had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 24.45%.

Torm Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 10.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 28th. Torm’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

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.