Acadian Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Acadian Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) by 94.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,210 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 142,947 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Frontline were worth $119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbour Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Frontline in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Frontline in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Frontline in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Frontline by 3,051.6% in the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 9,644 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 9,338 shares during the period. Finally, First Republic Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Frontline in the second quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FRO. StockNews.com downgraded Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Frontline from $18.20 to $21.10 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Frontline from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $17.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, August 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Frontline currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.03.

Frontline Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of FRO stock opened at $22.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.22. Frontline plc has a 1-year low of $10.55 and a 1-year high of $22.95.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shipping company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $522.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $353.46 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 31.87% and a net margin of 42.38%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Frontline plc will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a boost from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 14th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.25%.

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.