Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) Short Interest Up 26.3% in April

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 665,121 shares, a growth of 26.3% from the March 31st total of 526,628 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 697,536 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Torm Price Performance

Torm stock opened at $31.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.02. Torm has a one year low of $15.79 and a one year high of $32.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.27.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. Torm had a return on equity of 13.26% and a net margin of 21.29%.The business had revenue of $352.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.21 million.

Torm Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.8%. This is a boost from Torm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Torm’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Torm

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Torm during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in shares of Torm in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Torm during the 3rd quarter valued at about $120,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Torm during the fourth quarter worth about $121,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Torm during the second quarter worth about $190,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore set a $35.00 price target on shares of Torm in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Torm from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a report on Friday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Torm has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

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.