Short Interest in Trustmark Co. (NASDAQ:TRMK) Grows By 21.1%

Trustmark Co. (NASDAQ:TRMK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,780,000 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the February 13th total of 1,470,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 289,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on TRMK shares. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Trustmark from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Trustmark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Trustmark from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Trustmark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Trustmark

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in Trustmark in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Trustmark during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Trustmark by 817.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Trustmark by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Trustmark by 165.7% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 2,051 shares during the period. 67.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trustmark Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ TRMK traded down $0.13 on Tuesday, hitting $34.23. 23,022 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 258,261. Trustmark has a 52-week low of $25.41 and a 52-week high of $40.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.44.

Trustmark (NASDAQ:TRMK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.09. Trustmark had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 10.12%. Research analysts forecast that Trustmark will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trustmark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Trustmark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Trustmark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.37%.

Trustmark Company Profile

Trustmark Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Trustmark National Bank that provides banking and other financial solutions to individuals and corporate institutions in the United States. The company operates through three segments: General Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance. It offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; certificates of deposits and individual retirement accounts; financing for commercial and industrial projects, income-producing commercial real estate, owner-occupied real estate, and construction and land development; and installment and real estate loans, and lines of credit, as well as treasury management services.