Frontline’s (FRO) Buy Rating Reiterated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Frontline (NYSE:FRO) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $26.00 target price on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on FRO. BTIG Research raised shares of Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Frontline to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Frontline presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.26.

Frontline Trading Down 3.6 %

Frontline stock opened at $16.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Frontline has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $29.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.53.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $409.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $383.88 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 25.64%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Frontline will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Frontline in the third quarter worth about $783,000. Edge Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Frontline by 31.8% during the second quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 413,096 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,641,000 after buying an additional 99,765 shares during the last quarter. FCG Investment Co bought a new stake in Frontline during the third quarter worth about $823,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Frontline during the second quarter worth about $548,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Frontline by 5,319.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,292,977 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $123,750,000 after buying an additional 5,195,312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

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.