Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV Takes Position in Frontline PLC $FRO

Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 386,264 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,465,000. Frontline makes up 1.8% of Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FRO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Frontline by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,785 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $129,966,000 after acquiring an additional 63,432 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Frontline by 44.0% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,247,120 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $51,212,000 after acquiring an additional 686,212 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Frontline by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,411,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,794,000 after purchasing an additional 217,760 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Frontline by 27.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 942,698 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,477,000 after purchasing an additional 202,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Frontline by 256.9% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 826,343 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $18,031,000 after purchasing an additional 594,811 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Frontline Stock Performance

NYSE FRO opened at $34.85 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 0.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. Frontline PLC has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $43.10.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.03). Frontline had a return on equity of 27.80% and a net margin of 36.70%.The company had revenue of $714.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.59 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 66.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $1.55 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 17.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Frontline’s payout ratio is currently 152.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Frontline from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Frontline from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Pareto Securities lowered Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $39.46 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Finally, Evercore cut Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.62.

Frontline 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.