Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The shipping company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.10), Zacks reports. Frontline had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 46.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.20 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Frontline’s conference call:

• Frontline reported strong Q4 results with $228 million profit (adjusted $230 million) driven by higher TCE earnings (up to $424.5 million) and lower operating and finance costs.
• The company has high near-term revenue visibility with 92% of VLCC days for early Q1 2026 booked at $107,100/day (83% Suezmax at $76,700/day, 67% LR2/Aframax at $62,400/day).
• Frontline sold eight older VLCCs for $831.5 million (net proceeds ~$477 million) and agreed to buy nine latest-generation scrubber-fitted Eco VLCC newbuilds for $1.224 billion, to be financed ~60% with long-term debt.
• The balance sheet is solid with $705 million in liquidity (including undrawn revolver), no meaningful debt maturities until 2030, and a stated cash-generation potential of $2.8 billion (~$12.51/share) at current rates.
• Management sees a fundamentally tight market (sanctions/dark fleet dynamics, compliant-molecule growth, aging fleet) that supports high freight, but warns of extreme volatility and seasonal/geo‑political risks that could produce sharp moves.

Frontline Trading Up 1.7%

FRO stock traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $37.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,850,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,436,679. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.68 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. Frontline has a 1 year low of $12.40 and a 1 year high of $37.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FRO shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Frontline from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Frontline from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Frontline in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.62.

Institutional Trading of Frontline

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Frontline during the 4th quarter valued at $15,676,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,247,120 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $51,212,000 after acquiring an additional 686,212 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Frontline by 256.9% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 826,343 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $18,031,000 after acquiring an additional 594,811 shares during the period. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Frontline during the fourth quarter valued at $11,917,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in Frontline by 882.4% in the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 583,166 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,725,000 after purchasing an additional 523,806 shares during the period. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.