Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) gapped up prior to trading on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $56.10, but opened at $58.28. Frontline shares last traded at $59.2630, with a volume of 752,262 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on FRO shares. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Frontline from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Nordea Equity Research downgraded Frontline to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Frontline from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, Danske lowered shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Frontline presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.37.

Frontline Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.54. The stock has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 1.87.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 28th. The shipping company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by ($0.13). Frontline had a net margin of 49.47% and a return on equity of 44.24%. The business had revenue of $943.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $758.89 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 96.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Friday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $2.61 per share. This is a positive change from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $10.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 18th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is presently 156.52%.

Institutional Trading of Frontline

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Frontline by 96.4% in the 3rd quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 16,115 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 7,908 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 774,952 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $38,182,000 after acquiring an additional 26,380 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 12,900 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 5,400 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 22,969 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 2,810 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Frontline by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 27,115 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Frontline

Frontline plc (NYSE: FRO) is a maritime transportation company that owns and operates a fleet of crude oil and refined petroleum product tankers. Its vessels transport energy commodities for oil companies, commodity traders, refineries and other customers in international markets.

The company’s fleet primarily includes very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax tankers and Aframax or LR2 tankers. Frontline generally employs its vessels through a combination of voyage charters, time charters and commercial pool arrangements, allowing it to serve major global shipping routes and connect oil-producing regions with refineries and consuming markets.

Frontline has roots in the Norwegian shipping industry and is associated with shipping entrepreneur John Fredriksen.