Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) Receives $24.62 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.6225.

A number of equities analysts have commented on FRO shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Frontline from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Frontline from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Frontline in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Clarkson Capital upgraded Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Frontline by 155.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,692,537 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $27,775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,034 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Frontline by 44.0% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,247,120 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $51,212,000 after buying an additional 686,212 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Frontline by 274.3% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 877,529 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $14,400,000 after buying an additional 643,100 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Frontline during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,587,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Frontline by 185.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 606,443 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,821,000 after acquiring an additional 394,226 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Frontline Price Performance

FRO stock opened at $26.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63 and a beta of 0.08. Frontline has a 1 year low of $12.40 and a 1 year high of $26.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 21st. The shipping company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $257.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $265.23 million. Frontline had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 8.89%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Frontline will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. Frontline’s payout ratio is 77.55%.

About Frontline

Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO) is a leading global shipping company specializing in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and petroleum products. The company’s core business activities encompass the ownership and operation of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax tankers and Aframax vessels. Through long-term charters, spot market operations and time charters, Frontline provides flexible shipping solutions that cater to a diverse set of energy producers, refiners and trading houses worldwide.

Frontline’s fleet is geared toward high-capacity, ocean-going tankers capable of carrying large volumes of crude oil over intercontinental distances.