Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.1150.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Pareto Securities cut shares of Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $39.46 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 25th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Evercore cut shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Frontline from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd.

Frontline Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of FRO opened at $34.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.04. Frontline has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $39.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.34.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 28th. The shipping company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $624.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $456.90 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 27.80% and a net margin of 36.70%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 EPS.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This is an increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.8%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is 152.71%.

Institutional Trading of Frontline

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of Frontline by 2.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,717 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. grew its position in shares of Frontline by 1.1% during the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. now owns 38,601 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Frontline by 3.5% during the first quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,152 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Frontline by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 73,544 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Frontline by 58.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Frontline Company Profile

Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO) is a leading global shipping company specializing in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and petroleum products. The company’s core business activities encompass the ownership and operation of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax tankers and Aframax vessels. Through long-term charters, spot market operations and time charters, Frontline provides flexible shipping solutions that cater to a diverse set of energy producers, refiners and trading houses worldwide.

Frontline’s fleet is geared toward high-capacity, ocean-going tankers capable of carrying large volumes of crude oil over intercontinental distances.