Raymond James & Associates Cuts Stock Position in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Raymond James & Associates lowered its stake in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) by 31.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,205 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 8,655 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Frontline were worth $385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Frontline by 175.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 140,103 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,631,000 after buying an additional 89,284 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,324,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,775,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Frontline by 128.4% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Frontline by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 171,804 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,226,000 after buying an additional 25,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Frontline Stock Performance

Shares of FRO opened at $23.80 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.07. The company has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 0.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Frontline plc has a 12 month low of $13.35 and a 12 month high of $25.14.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The shipping company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $415.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.36 million. Frontline had a net margin of 35.95% and a return on equity of 26.00%. Frontline’s quarterly revenue was down 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Frontline plc will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. This is a boost from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.17%.

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.