BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires New Position in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 29,886 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of Frontline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Frontline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Frontline by 331.8% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,166 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 4,738 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 84.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,921 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 4,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nexpoint Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline in the 4th quarter worth $159,000. 22.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Kepler Capital Markets set a $12.49 target price on shares of Frontline in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Frontline from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.62.

Frontline Price Performance

Frontline stock opened at $18.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.35. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 0.24. Frontline plc has a 1 year low of $12.40 and a 1 year high of $29.39.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 23rd. The shipping company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18. The company had revenue of $427.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $252.26 million. Frontline had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Frontline’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Frontline plc will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

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.