Frontline Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:FRO)

Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 3,995 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 8% compared to the typical volume of 3,690 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FRO. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Evercore raised their target price on shares of Frontline from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Frontline from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Frontline in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on Frontline from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Frontline has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.87.

Frontline Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of FRO opened at $33.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The company’s fifty day moving average is $25.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.70. Frontline has a fifty-two week low of $12.40 and a fifty-two week high of $34.14.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 21st. The shipping company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 12.23%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. Analysts forecast that Frontline will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,785 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $129,966,000 after acquiring an additional 63,432 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Frontline by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,247,120 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $51,212,000 after acquiring an additional 686,212 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Frontline by 155.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,692,537 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $27,775,000 after buying an additional 1,029,034 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Frontline by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,411,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,794,000 after purchasing an additional 217,760 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Frontline by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,058,260 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,118,000 after purchasing an additional 180,731 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

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.