Dnb Carnegie Downgrades Frontline (NYSE:FRO) to Hold

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) was downgraded by analysts at Dnb Carnegie from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on FRO. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Frontline from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Frontline in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Frontline in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.62.

Frontline Stock Performance

Shares of FRO stock opened at $37.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $28.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion and a P/E ratio of 21.87. Frontline has a 12 month low of $12.40 and a 12 month high of $39.89.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The shipping company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.10). Frontline had a return on equity of 16.81% and a net margin of 19.31%.The business had revenue of $424.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $456.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 46.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Frontline will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FRO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Frontline by 1.1% during the fourth 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 during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 686,212 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,029,034 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings 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 worth $30,794,000 after purchasing an additional 217,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $24,118,000 after purchasing an additional 180,731 shares during the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.