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

Torm Plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,028,304 shares, a decline of 31.1% from the December 15th total of 1,492,385 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 494,860 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 494,860 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on TRMD. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Torm in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Torm from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Torm presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Torm

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Torm during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new position in Torm in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in Torm in the third quarter worth about $120,000. Weaver Consulting Group bought a new position in Torm in the second quarter worth about $167,000. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Torm during the third quarter valued at about $214,000. 73.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Torm Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ TRMD opened at $22.67 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.33 and a beta of 0.04. Torm has a 12 month low of $13.60 and a 12 month high of $23.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Torm (NASDAQ:TRMD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $342.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.49 million. Torm had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 13.03%. Equities research analysts forecast that Torm will post 6.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Torm Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. This is an increase from Torm’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.9%. Torm’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.54%.

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.