Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.3725.

Several brokerages have issued reports on FRO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Frontline from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Frontline from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Frontline from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Frontline in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on Frontline from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Frontline by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 86,364 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 18,606 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Frontline by 6,075.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,872 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 46,113 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Frontline during the third quarter worth about $350,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Frontline by 3.8% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 247,075 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,645,000 after buying an additional 9,098 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Frontline by 1.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 282,120 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,451,000 after buying an additional 3,619 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Frontline Stock Up 0.6%

FRO opened at $25.04 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.40 and a beta of 0.14. Frontline has a 52 week low of $12.40 and a 52 week high of $25.74.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 29th. The shipping company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.06). Frontline had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The company had revenue of $282.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $328.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Frontline will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

Frontline Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 134.58%.

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.