Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Upgraded by Fearnley Fonds to “Strong-Buy”

Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Frontline (NYSE:FRO) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Frontline to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a buy rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Frontline in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Frontline from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $27.58.

Frontline Stock Performance

FRO stock opened at $22.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Frontline has a 12-month low of $17.02 and a 12-month high of $29.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 0.04.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.03). Frontline had a net margin of 29.42% and a return on equity of 19.73%. The business had revenue of $409.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $383.88 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Frontline will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its holdings in Frontline by 75.0% during the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Frontline by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,976 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Frontline by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 9,840 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Frontline in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Frontline in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.