Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) Stock Short Interest Report for October

Key Points

• Short interest plunged 56.1% to 657,093 shares as of October 15, representing 0.6% of outstanding shares and only 0.3 days of average trading volume.
• Analyst sentiment was broadly positive: Torm received an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $38, while several firms recently upgraded or reaffirmed bullish views.
• Torm increased its quarterly dividend to $2.40 per share, equivalent to $9.60 annually and a stated 22.2% yield, although its payout ratio reached 115.49%.

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 657,093 shares, a drop of 56.1% from the September 30th total of 1,497,540 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,421,529 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Torm

In other news, CFO Kim Balle sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.16, for a total value of $783,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 23,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $902,363.88. The trade was a 46.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 42,533 shares of company stock valued at $1,643,225 over the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Torm

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

Torm Stock Performance

Shares of TRMD opened at $43.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.48. The stock has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 0.07. Torm has a 52 week low of $19.30 and a 52 week high of $43.13.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.06). The company 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th were paid a $2.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Torm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $9.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 22.2%. Torm's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.49%.

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.

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