Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) Short Interest Down 25.7% in August

Key Points

• Torm Plc experienced a significant decrease in short interest of 25.7% during August, with short interest totaling 1,880,000 shares by August 31st.
• The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the last quarter, slightly exceeding estimates, alongside a revenue of $208.20 million.
• Torm recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a dividend yield of 6.9% and an annualized dividend of $1.60.

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,880,000 shares, a decrease of 25.7% from the August 15th total of 2,530,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 822,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 822,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on TRMD shares. Pareto Securities lowered Torm from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Fearnley Fonds downgraded Torm from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $23.00 price objective on Torm and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.50.

Torm Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TRMD traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.57. The company had a trading volume of 477,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 751,692. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $20.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.21. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.12. Torm has a 52 week low of $13.60 and a 52 week high of $35.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.01. Torm had a net margin of 24.90% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $208.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.58 million. On average, analysts forecast that Torm will post 6.27 EPS for the current year.

Torm Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. Torm's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Torm

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in shares of Torm in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Torm in the 1st quarter valued at $69,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Torm by 1,712.3% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,292 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Torm in the 1st quarter valued at about $167,000. Finally, Weaver Consulting Group purchased a new position in Torm in the second quarter valued at approximately $167,000. 73.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Torm Company Profile

TORM plc, a shipping company, owns and operates a fleet of product tankers in the United Kingdom. It operates in two operating segments, Tanker and Marine Exhaust. The Tanker segment transports refined oil products, such as gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, naphtha, and gas oil, as well as dirty petroleum products, including fuel oil.