Jefferies Financial Group Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Frontline (NYSE:FRO)

Jefferies Financial Group restated their buy rating on shares of Frontline (NYSE:FRO) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $26.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Frontline to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, BTIG Research raised Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.26.

Frontline Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE FRO opened at $16.18 on Wednesday. Frontline has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $29.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 0.06.

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 25.64% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $409.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $383.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Frontline will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Frontline

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Frontline by 5,319.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,292,977 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $123,750,000 after acquiring an additional 5,195,312 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Frontline by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 21,820 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,905 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Frontline by 12.9% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 113,332 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,650,000 after buying an additional 12,992 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Frontline in the first quarter valued at about $690,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in Frontline by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 14,634 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 4,187 shares during the period. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.