Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Price Target to $26.00

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) had its price target cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $30.00 to $26.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on FRO. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Frontline from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BTIG Research raised Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Frontline to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.26.

Frontline Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of FRO opened at $19.23 on Thursday. Frontline has a twelve month low of $18.26 and a twelve month high of $29.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.90.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Frontline will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Frontline Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Frontline’s payout ratio is 93.23%.

Institutional Trading of Frontline

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in Frontline by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,625 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Frontline by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,723 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Frontline by 75.0% during the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Frontline by 6.4% in the second quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,976 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

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.