Philadelphia Trust Co. Cuts Stock Position in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Philadelphia Trust Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,352 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 5,036 shares during the period. Philadelphia Trust Co.’s holdings in Frontline were worth $288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Frontline by 1,281.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 24,556 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 22,778 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Frontline in the 4th quarter worth about $470,000. M&G Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Frontline during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,883,000. RMR Wealth Builders raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 15,612 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 1,813.6% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 73,941 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 70,077 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Frontline Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE FRO traded up $0.60 on Monday, reaching $28.08. 717,741 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,025,583. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $24.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.03. Frontline plc has a fifty-two week low of $13.35 and a fifty-two week high of $28.27.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The shipping company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.05). Frontline had a net margin of 35.95% and a return on equity of 26.00%. The firm had revenue of $415.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Frontline plc will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.27%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on FRO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Frontline from $23.00 to $22.30 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Frontline Company Profile

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.