Energy Income Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 34,536 Frontline PLC $FRO

Energy Income Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 34,536 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,202,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FRO. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Frontline by 32.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 26,342 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 6,424 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Frontline in the first quarter worth $7,587,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Frontline by 12.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 185,226 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 20,370 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Frontline by 93.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 72,539 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after acquiring an additional 35,078 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Frontline by 215.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 91,039 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 62,210 shares during the period. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Frontline from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Evercore cut shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Frontline from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Pareto Securities lowered shares of Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $39.46 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Frontline has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.62.

Frontline Stock Performance

Shares of FRO stock opened at $43.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market cap of $9.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.02. Frontline PLC has a 1 year low of $18.43 and a 1 year high of $43.89.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This is a boost from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.3%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is presently 152.71%.

Frontline 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.