Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 59.5% in March to 526,628 shares (about 0.5% of the float), leaving a days-to-cover ratio of just 0.6 days.
• Torm raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70 (annualized $2.80), implying a 9.5% yield with a payout ratio around 71.8%.
• Financials and analyst view: Torm beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.87 vs. $0.83) and revenue topped forecasts, and analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target of $34.00.

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 526,628 shares, a decrease of 59.5% from the March 15th total of 1,300,264 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 860,330 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on TRMD. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Torm in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Torm from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Torm

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Torm in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new position in Torm during the second quarter worth $46,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in Torm during the third quarter worth $120,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Torm during the fourth quarter worth $121,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. acquired a new stake in Torm in the second quarter worth $190,000. 73.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Torm Trading Down 1.6%

TRMD traded down $0.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.32. 913,629 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 807,775. The company's fifty day moving average price is $27.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.33. Torm has a fifty-two week low of $14.92 and a fifty-two week high of $31.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.02.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. Torm had a net margin of 21.29% and a return on equity of 13.26%. The firm had revenue of $352.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.21 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Torm will post 6.27 EPS for the current year.

Torm Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.5%. This is an increase from Torm's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Torm's payout ratio is presently 71.83%.

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.

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