Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 63,432 Shares of Frontline PLC $FRO

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,903,785 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,432 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 2.65% of Frontline worth $129,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Frontline by 44.0% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,247,120 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $51,212,000 after buying an additional 686,212 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Frontline during the first quarter worth about $7,587,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Frontline by 185.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 606,443 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $13,821,000 after purchasing an additional 394,226 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in Frontline in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,246,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 27.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 942,698 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,477,000 after buying an additional 202,142 shares during the period. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler cut shares of Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Frontline from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Clarkson Capital raised Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Dnb Carnegie downgraded shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Frontline has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.00.

Frontline Price Performance

Shares of FRO opened at $38.17 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.99. Frontline PLC has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $39.89. The company has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.45 and a beta of 0.04.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 28th. The shipping company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $624.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $456.90 million. Frontline had a net margin of 19.31% and a return on equity of 16.51%. The business’s revenue was up 46.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.20 EPS.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.8%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 242.35%.

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.