Frontline Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:FRO)

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 4,374 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 70% compared to the average volume of 2,580 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRO. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Frontline by 234.6% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 35,116 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $905,000 after acquiring an additional 24,620 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Frontline by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 9,840 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 116,988 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,118,000 after buying an additional 6,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Frontline by 7.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,932,842 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $50,683,000 after buying an additional 138,011 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Frontline Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FRO opened at $15.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 0.01. The company’s fifty day moving average is $16.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Frontline has a 12-month low of $13.17 and a 12-month high of $29.39.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 27th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.05). Frontline had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 25.64%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Frontline will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. Frontline’s payout ratio is presently 55.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Frontline from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. BTIG Research upgraded Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.83 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.36.

Frontline Company Profile

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.