Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) Short Interest Down 6.0% in August

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,210,000 shares, a decrease of 6.0% from the August 15th total of 7,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days. Approximately 5.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Frontline Stock Up 3.4 %

FRO stock opened at $23.93 on Friday. Frontline has a fifty-two week low of $16.95 and a fifty-two week high of $29.39. The company has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 0.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

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

Frontline Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.36%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FRO. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Frontline in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $548,000. Susquehanna International Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Frontline during the second quarter valued at $280,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Frontline by 230.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 32,319 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 22,531 shares in the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Frontline by 31.8% in the second quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 413,096 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,641,000 after acquiring an additional 99,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Frontline by 4,965.6% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,711 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 4,618 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.