Analysts Set Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) Price Target at $27.26

Shares of Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.26.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FRO shares. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BTIG Research upgraded Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised Frontline to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Frontline from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Frontline in the first quarter worth about $224,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Frontline during the first quarter valued at approximately $865,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 5,195,312 shares during the last quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Frontline in the 1st quarter worth approximately $760,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline in the 1st quarter worth approximately $371,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Frontline Stock Performance

NYSE:FRO opened at $19.55 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $21.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.73. Frontline has a 52 week low of $18.26 and a 52 week high of $29.39.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $409.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.88 million. Frontline had a net margin of 29.42% and a return on equity of 19.73%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Frontline will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.69%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.23%.

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.