Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.62.

FRO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Frontline from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Kepler Capital Markets set a $12.49 price target on shares of Frontline in a report on Thursday, March 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Frontline during the first quarter worth approximately $45,026,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Frontline during the 4th quarter worth about $41,447,000. Hartree Partners LP grew its holdings in Frontline by 482.6% during the fourth quarter. Hartree Partners LP now owns 1,061,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,047,000 after purchasing an additional 878,885 shares during the last quarter. Corigliano Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Frontline during the 1st quarter worth $12,002,000. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in Frontline during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,224,000. 22.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Frontline Trading Up 2.3%

Frontline stock opened at $17.96 on Thursday. Frontline has a 12-month low of $12.40 and a 12-month high of $26.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 7.33 and a beta of 0.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.25.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 23rd. The shipping company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18. The firm had revenue of $427.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $252.26 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 25.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Frontline will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.15%.

Frontline Company Profile

Frontline plc, a shipping company, engages in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and oil products worldwide. It owns and operates oil and product tankers. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated a fleet of 70 vessels. It is also involved in the charter, purchase, and sale of vessels. The company was founded in 1985 and is based in Limassol, Cyprus.