Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Cut to Hold at Evercore

Evercore lowered shares of Frontline (NYSE:FRO) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Frontline in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Dnb Carnegie cut shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler cut shares of Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on Frontline from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Frontline presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

Frontline Price Performance

Frontline stock opened at $34.89 on Tuesday. Frontline has a 12 month low of $15.83 and a 12 month high of $39.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.56 and its 200-day moving average is $27.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 0.05.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 28th. The shipping company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $624.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $456.90 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 19.31%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.20 earnings per share.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. This is a boost from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is presently 242.35%.

Institutional Trading of Frontline

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRO. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Frontline during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Frontline during the third quarter worth $41,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Frontline in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Frontline in the 3rd quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Frontline during the 3rd quarter worth $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

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.