Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Frontline (NYSE:FRO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

FRO has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Frontline from $23.00 to $22.30 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Frontline from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from $17.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Frontline from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 21st.

Frontline Stock Performance

Shares of FRO stock opened at $24.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.18. Frontline has a one year low of $13.35 and a one year high of $25.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The shipping company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.05). Frontline had a return on equity of 26.00% and a net margin of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $415.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Frontline will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.37 dividend. This is an increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.98%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&G Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Frontline during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,883,000. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Frontline in the third quarter worth $10,682,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Frontline by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,057,691 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $21,207,000 after acquiring an additional 567,900 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Frontline by 6,022.8% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 502,682 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,427,000 after acquiring an additional 494,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paradiem LLC acquired a new position in Frontline during the 4th quarter worth $6,822,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

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.