19,195 Shares in Frontline PLC $FRO Purchased by Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd

Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 19,195 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 2.9% in 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 period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Frontline by 6.3% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 18,163 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 17.5% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,730 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Frontline during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Frontline by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 21,425 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,825 shares in the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Frontline Stock Performance

FRO stock opened at $30.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.48. Frontline PLC has a 52 week low of $12.40 and a 52 week high of $39.89. The stock has a market cap of $6.72 billion and a P/E ratio of 17.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The shipping company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.10). Frontline had a net margin of 19.31% and a return on equity of 16.51%. The company had revenue of $424.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $456.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 46.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Frontline PLC will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.7%. This is a boost from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 242.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Clarkson Capital upgraded shares of Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Frontline in a report on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Frontline from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Dnb Carnegie downgraded Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Frontline currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.62.

Frontline Company 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.