Ruffer LLP Purchases Shares of 124,843 Frontline PLC $FRO

Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in shares of Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 124,843 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,845,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Frontline by 691.5% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,632 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 11,036 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Frontline by 155.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,692,537 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $27,775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,034 shares in the last quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Frontline by 839.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC now owns 93,926 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,141,000 after acquiring an additional 83,926 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Frontline by 20.6% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,058,260 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $24,118,000 after acquiring an additional 180,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Frontline by 17,093.7% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 79,607 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 79,144 shares in the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Frontline Stock Performance

Shares of FRO opened at $28.04 on Thursday. Frontline PLC has a 52 week low of $12.40 and a 52 week high of $28.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.61 and a beta of 0.08.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 21st. The shipping company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $257.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.23 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 12.23%.During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Frontline PLC will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRO has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Frontline from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Frontline in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Clarkson Capital raised Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Frontline from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.62.

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.