Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Shares Gap Up to $22.37

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $22.37, but opened at $22.92. Frontline shares last traded at $22.90, with a volume of 412,241 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FRO shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Frontline in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Frontline from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Frontline to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.58.

Frontline Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.46.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.03). Frontline had a net margin of 29.42% and a return on equity of 19.73%. The firm had revenue of $409.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $383.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Frontline plc will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Frontline Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.72%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Frontline by 5,319.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,292,977 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $123,750,000 after buying an additional 5,195,312 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Frontline by 7.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,932,842 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $50,683,000 after acquiring an additional 138,011 shares in the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Frontline by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,429,909 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $36,834,000 after purchasing an additional 161,518 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Frontline during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,074,000. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Frontline by 31.8% during the second quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 413,096 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,641,000 after buying an additional 99,765 shares during the period. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.