As per its latest disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paradiem LLC procured a fresh interest in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO – Free Report) in the fourth quarter. With an estimated value of $6,822,000, the company purchased 340,236 shares of the shipping company’s stock. Frontline ranks as Paradiem LLC’s 26th largest holding with a 1.9% weight in the company’s portfolio. When the latest reporting period ended, Paradiem LLC held roughly 0.15% of Frontline.
Recently, shares of the company were bought and sold by additional institutional investors and hedge funds. The third-quarter increase in Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s investment in Frontline was 175.7%. Following the purchase of 89,284 shares in the most recent quarter, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC currently holds 140,103 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at $2,631,000.
In the third quarter, Raymond James & Associates paid $523,000 for a new interest in Frontline. In the third quarter, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new $1,324,000 stake in Frontline. In the third quarter, Penserra Capital Management LLC paid $1,775,000 for a new interest in Frontline. In the fourth quarter, Emfo LLC finally made a new investment of roughly $80,000 in Frontline shares. Institutional investors and hedge funds currently hold 22.70% of the stock.
Frontline Stock Results
In Friday’s midday trading, shares of NYSE FRO increased by $0.36 to settle at $23.80. The company’s average volume of 1,596,304 shares was exchanged, whereas 1,344,991 shares were traded. In terms of financial ratios, the company is 1.78 times debt-to-equity, 1.79 times quick, and 1.40 times current. A year ago, Frontline plc’s high was $25.14, and its low was $13.35. Two of the stock’s simple moving averages are twenty-one days, at $22.08, and fifty days, at $23.35. P/E ratio is 8.07, beta is 0.06, and market capitalization of the stock is $5.30 billion.
On Thursday, February 29th, Frontline (NYSE:FRO – Get Free Report) lastly disclosed its quarterly earnings results. The shipping company’s earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter came in at $0.46, which was less than the $0.51 by ($0.05) consensus estimate of analysts. With a net margin of 35.95%, Frontline had a 26.00% return on equity.
During the quarter, the company’s revenue came in at $415.00 million, while analysts had projected $280.36 million. In the same period last year, the company generated $0.97 in earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue decreased by 21.7% from the same period the previous year. Research analysts expect Frontline plc to report 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year on average.
Dividend Increase for Frontline
A quarterly dividend that was paid on Wednesday, March 27th, was also recently declared by the company. A $0.37 per share dividend was paid to investors who were of record on Friday, March 15. On Thursday, March 14th, the dividend was ex-dividend. On an annualized basis, this amounts to a $1.48 dividend, yielding 6.22% on the investment. Frontline’s prior quarterly dividend of $0.30 has been replaced with this favorable change. It is currently 50.17% for Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR).
Analysts on Wall Street Comment
On FRO shares, a number of stock analysts have published reports. In a report released on Tuesday, January 9, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $26.00. In a report released on Friday, March 1st, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its price target for Frontline from $23.00 to $22.30 and assigned the stock a “neutral” rating. Ultimately, in a report released on Thursday, March 21st, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the shares from $22.00 to $30.00.
Frontline Business Overview
Crude oil and oil products are transported by sea around the world by Frontline plc, a shipping company. It owns and runs tankers carrying products and oil. The company had seventy vessels in its fleet as of December 31, 2022. It is additionally engaged in the buying, selling, and chartering of ships. Based in Limassol, Cyprus, the company was established in 1985.