Investors Buy High Volume of Frontline Call Options (NYSE:FRO)

Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 6,636 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 84% compared to the average daily volume of 3,605 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Trading of Frontline

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRO. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Frontline by 32.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 26,342 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 6,424 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Frontline in the 1st quarter worth about $7,587,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Frontline by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 185,226 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 20,370 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,299 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 17,079 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535 shares during the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Frontline Price Performance

FRO opened at $33.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.97 and a beta of 0.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.63. Frontline has a 1 year low of $12.40 and a 1 year high of $33.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 21st. The shipping company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $257.04 million for 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Frontline will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. Frontline’s payout ratio is presently 77.55%.

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.