Frontline Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:FRO)

Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 294,646 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 5,735% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,050 call options.

Institutional Trading of Frontline

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

Frontline Price Performance

NYSE FRO opened at $33.47 on Thursday. Frontline has a 12-month low of $12.40 and a 12-month high of $39.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $29.64 and its 200-day moving average is $25.37. The company has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion and a PE ratio of 19.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The shipping company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.10). Frontline had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 19.31%.The business had revenue of $424.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $456.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.20 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 46.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Frontline will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This is an increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.3%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is 44.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Dnb Carnegie cut shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Frontline from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Clarkson Capital raised Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Frontline in a report on Friday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.62.

Frontline Company Profile

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.