Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Upgraded by BTIG Research to Buy

BTIG Research upgraded shares of Frontline (NYSE:FRO) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $30.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock.

FRO has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Frontline from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Frontline in a research report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com raised Frontline to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds raised Frontline to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $28.06.

Frontline Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE FRO opened at $24.45 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 0.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.48. Frontline has a 52 week low of $18.34 and a 52 week high of $29.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $409.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.88 million. Frontline had a net margin of 29.42% and a return on equity of 19.73%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Frontline will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.15%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is 86.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Frontline by 75.0% in the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Frontline by 6.4% in the second quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,976 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Frontline by 9.7% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 9,840 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Frontline in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its position in Frontline by 56.6% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 5,604 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026 shares during the period. 22.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Frontline

Frontline plc, a shipping company, engages in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and oil products worldwide. It owns and operates oil and product tankers. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated a fleet of 70 vessels. It is also involved in the charter, purchase, and sale of vessels. The company was founded in 1985 and is based in Limassol, Cyprus.