International Assets Investment Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 30,075 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $603,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Frontline by 175.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 140,103 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 89,284 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates purchased a new position in Frontline in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $523,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Frontline in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,324,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Frontline in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,775,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Frontline by 128.4% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 104,055 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,980,000 after buying an additional 58,500 shares in the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Frontline Stock Performance

NYSE FRO opened at $22.72 on Thursday. Frontline plc has a fifty-two week low of $13.35 and a fifty-two week high of $25.14. The stock has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.70 and a beta of 0.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.37 and a 200-day moving average of $22.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The shipping company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $415.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.36 million. Frontline had a net margin of 35.95% and a return on equity of 26.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Frontline plc will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This is a positive change from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.17%.

Frontline 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.