Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) Plans Dividend Increase – $1.03 Per Share

Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of 1.03 per share by the shipping company on Thursday, March 19th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This is a 442.1% increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19.

Frontline has raised its dividend by an average of 0.8%per year over the last three years. Frontline has a dividend payout ratio of 25.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Frontline to earn $2.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.5%.

Frontline Stock Performance

NYSE FRO traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.91. The company had a trading volume of 6,898,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,056,765. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.40. Frontline has a fifty-two week low of $12.40 and a fifty-two week high of $37.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.68 and a beta of 0.07.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The shipping company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.10). Frontline had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The company had revenue of $424.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $456.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 46.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Frontline will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Frontline

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRO. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in Frontline by 2.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,717 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. now owns 38,601 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Frontline by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 73,544 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in Frontline by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 16,204 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Frontline by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 18,163 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Frontline

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.