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

TORM plc (NASDAQ:TRMD) saw a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,480,000 shares, an increase of 27.5% from the October 31st total of 2,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 6.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TORM

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TRMD. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of TORM in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,047,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TORM in the 3rd quarter worth $1,601,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of TORM by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 81,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of TORM by 65.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 384,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,140,000 after acquiring an additional 151,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in shares of TORM by 120.3% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 24,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $823,000 after acquiring an additional 13,144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TRMD. Fearnley Fonds raised TORM to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of TORM from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

TORM Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of TRMD traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.94. 639,449 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 804,008. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.72. TORM has a 52-week low of $20.69 and a 52-week high of $40.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.47.

TORM Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.876 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.73%. TORM’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.28%.

About TORM

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.