Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) Short Interest Up 23.6% in February

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,440,000 shares, a growth of 23.6% from the January 31st total of 7,640,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 6.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Frontline

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRO. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Frontline in the 3rd quarter valued at $783,000. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Frontline in the fourth quarter valued at about $579,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Frontline by 102.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,494 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 22,022 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Frontline during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Harbour Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Frontline in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.83 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Frontline from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.46.

Frontline Price Performance

FRO stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $16.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,213,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,164,089. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.02. Frontline has a 52 week low of $13.17 and a 52 week high of $29.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion and a P/E ratio of 6.81.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The shipping company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The business had revenue of $425.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.16 million. Frontline had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Frontline will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is 36.04%.

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.