Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $39.1150.

FRO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Frontline from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Frontline from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler cut Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Dnb Carnegie cut Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th.

Frontline Price Performance

FRO opened at $34.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.50 and a beta of 0.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.48. Frontline has a 1 year low of $16.25 and a 1 year high of $39.89.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 18.0%. This is an increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Frontline by 4,659.9% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,783,681 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $202,080,000 after buying an additional 5,662,172 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new position in Frontline during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,911,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Frontline during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,676,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Frontline by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,247,120 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $51,212,000 after buying an additional 686,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Frontline by 256.9% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 826,343 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $18,031,000 after buying an additional 594,811 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

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.