Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $23.08 and traded as high as $29.39. Frontline shares last traded at $29.07, with a volume of 2,473,392 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Frontline Trading Down 1.0%

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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $24.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.08. The company has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.66 and a beta of 0.07.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 21st. The shipping company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $257.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.23 million. Frontline had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 8.89%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Frontline PLC will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is 77.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Frontline

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRO. GeoSphere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Frontline by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. GeoSphere Capital Management LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,364,000 after acquiring an additional 80,000 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Frontline during the fourth quarter valued at about $494,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Frontline during the fourth quarter valued at about $362,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Frontline by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 167,957 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,665,000 after purchasing an additional 82,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Frontline by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 29,331 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.