TORM plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

TORM plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,600,000 shares, an increase of 23.1% from the July 15th total of 1,300,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 708,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in TORM during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TORM during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TORM during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of TORM in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new position in TORM in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. 73.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TORM Stock Performance

Shares of TRMD traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $37.27. 945,765 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 477,693. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.78. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.27. TORM has a twelve month low of $24.11 and a twelve month high of $40.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.37, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

TORM Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th will be paid a $1.80 dividend. This is a boost from TORM’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 19.32%. TORM’s payout ratio is 55.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Evercore ISI increased their target price on TORM from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd.

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.