Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO – Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after BTIG Research raised their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $42.00. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. Frontline traded as high as $39.89 and last traded at $38.08, with a volume of 4113061 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.95.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on FRO. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Frontline from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Frontline in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Frontline currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.62.

View Our Latest Analysis on Frontline

Institutional Trading of Frontline

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRO. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Frontline by 155.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,692,537 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $27,775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,034 shares during the last quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 83,926 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Frontline by 20.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 180,731 shares during the last quarter. Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in Frontline during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,845,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Frontline by 17,093.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 79,607 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 79,144 shares during the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Frontline Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38 and a beta of 0.07. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.48.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The shipping company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.10). Frontline had a return on equity of 16.81% and a net margin of 19.31%.The firm had revenue of $424.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $456.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. Frontline’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Frontline PLC will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This is an increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 242.35%.

Frontline Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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