Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.62.

FRO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Frontline from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Kepler Capital Markets set a $12.49 price objective on Frontline in a research report on Thursday, March 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRO. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Frontline in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in Frontline in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Frontline in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Frontline by 59.3% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,657 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Frontline in the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Frontline Stock Performance

Shares of Frontline stock opened at $17.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Frontline has a 12 month low of $12.40 and a 12 month high of $29.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.39.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The shipping company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $425.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $273.16 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 25.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Frontline will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Frontline’s payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

About Frontline

Frontline plc, a shipping company, engages in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and oil products worldwide. It owns and operates oil and product tankers. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated a fleet of 70 vessels. It is also involved in the charter, purchase, and sale of vessels. The company was founded in 1985 and is based in Limassol, Cyprus.