Frontline PLC $FRO Shares Sold by Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ

Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ lowered its stake in shares of Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) by 27.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,536 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 15,198 shares during the period. Frontline makes up approximately 100.0% of Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ’s holdings in Frontline were worth $1,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Frontline by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,785 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $129,966,000 after buying an additional 63,432 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Frontline by 44.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 686,212 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in Frontline by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,411,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,794,000 after acquiring an additional 217,760 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Frontline by 27.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 942,698 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,477,000 after acquiring an additional 202,142 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Frontline by 256.9% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 826,343 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $18,031,000 after acquiring an additional 594,811 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Frontline from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Evercore downgraded shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Danske downgraded shares of Frontline to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.62.

Frontline Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FRO opened at $40.74 on Thursday. Frontline PLC has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $43.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.10 and a 200-day moving average of $31.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $9.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.02.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $714.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $579.59 million. Frontline had a net margin of 36.70% and a return on equity of 27.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 66.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This is an increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Frontline’s payout ratio is 152.71%.

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.