Vision Financial Markets LLC Purchases 31,600 Shares of Frontline PLC $FRO

Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 31,600 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,557,000. Frontline accounts for about 1.1% of Vision Financial Markets LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Frontline by 4,659.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,783,681 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $202,080,000 after purchasing an additional 5,662,172 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Frontline during the second quarter valued at $50,846,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Frontline by 133.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 927,838 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,344,000 after purchasing an additional 530,500 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Frontline during the second quarter valued at about $30,123,000. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in Frontline by 162.6% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 847,488 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,809,000 after purchasing an additional 524,804 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Frontline Price Performance

Shares of Frontline stock traded up $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,608,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,291,670. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.47. Frontline PLC has a 12-month low of $20.47 and a 12-month high of $59.75. The company has a market cap of $11.78 billion, a PE ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 28th. The shipping company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.74 by ($0.13). Frontline had a return on equity of 44.24% and a net margin of 49.47%. The business had revenue of $943.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $758.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 96.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $2.61 per share. This is an increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 18th. This represents a $10.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 19.7%. Frontline’s payout ratio is 156.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on FRO. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Frontline from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Danske downgraded Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Frontline from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.37.

About Frontline

Frontline plc is a maritime shipping company that owns and operates tankers used to transport crude oil and refined petroleum products worldwide. The company’s fleet includes very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax tankers, and Aframax and Long Range 2 (LR2) vessels, serving international energy markets.

Frontline’s vessels are employed through a combination of voyage charters, time charters and pool arrangements. Its operations connect major oil-producing regions with refineries and consuming markets across the Atlantic, Pacific and other global trade routes.

Founded in 1985, Frontline is incorporated in Bermuda and has corporate operations based in Limassol, Cyprus.