Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) Stock Has Average Price Target of $45.37

Shares of Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.12.

FRO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore set a $53.00 price target on shares of Frontline in a research report on Tuesday. DZ Bank lowered Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Frontline from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Nordea Equity Research downgraded Frontline to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Frontline from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Frontline by 4,659.9% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,783,681 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $202,080,000 after acquiring an additional 5,662,172 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Frontline during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,846,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in Frontline by 3.5% during the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 774,952 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $38,182,000 after purchasing an additional 26,380 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Frontline during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Frontline Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of FRO opened at $56.90 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $50.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.10. Frontline has a fifty-two week low of $20.47 and a fifty-two week high of $59.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 0.15.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 28th. The shipping company reported $2.61 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 firm had revenue of $943.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $758.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 96.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 18th were given a dividend of $2.61 per share. This is an increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $10.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 18th. Frontline’s payout ratio is currently 156.52%.

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.