DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Sells 15,500 Shares of Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale cut its holdings in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,555 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 15,500 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Frontline were worth $1,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 4.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,717,845 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $51,567,000 after purchasing an additional 214,352 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 4.6% in the first quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,684,450 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $77,574,000 after purchasing an additional 207,450 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,483,826 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $54,434,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271,724 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 58.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,780,284 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $45,987,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 594.5% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,360,781 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,804,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020,869 shares during the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Frontline Price Performance

NYSE:FRO opened at $24.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.72. Frontline plc has a 1-year low of $13.35 and a 1-year high of $25.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16 and a beta of 0.06.

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 company had revenue of $415.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Frontline plc will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.15%. This is a boost from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Frontline’s payout ratio is 50.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $26.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $22.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Frontline from $23.00 to $22.30 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st.

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.