Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Frontline (NYSE:FRO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

FRO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Dnb Carnegie lowered shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Frontline in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler cut Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. BTIG Research increased their price target on Frontline from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Frontline in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.00.

Frontline Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:FRO opened at $36.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.74. Frontline has a 52-week low of $12.40 and a 52-week high of $39.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, February 28th. The shipping company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $624.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $456.90 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 19.31%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Frontline will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.3%. This is an increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 242.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Frontline

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FRO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Frontline by 2.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,840,353 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $133,738,000 after buying an additional 164,776 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Frontline by 155.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,692,537 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $27,775,000 after buying an additional 1,029,034 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Frontline by 185.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 606,443 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,821,000 after acquiring an additional 394,226 shares in the last quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Frontline by 839.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC now owns 93,926 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,141,000 after acquiring an additional 83,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Frontline by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,058,260 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,118,000 after acquiring an additional 180,731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

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.