Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Trading Down 3.6% – What’s Next?

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) shares fell 3.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $24.09 and last traded at $24.12. 597,267 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 1,794,941 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Frontline to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Frontline from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. BTIG Research raised Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Frontline in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.06.

Frontline Trading Down 3.4 %

The company has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 0.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.49. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $409.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.88 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 29.42%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Frontline plc will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Frontline’s payout ratio is 86.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 5,319.5% during 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 period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Frontline during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,074,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP grew its position in Frontline by 115.9% in the 4th quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,057,691 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $21,207,000 after purchasing an additional 567,900 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of Frontline in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,811,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised 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 buying an additional 138,011 shares during the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.