Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Stock Price Down 6.4% – Should You Sell?

Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO)’s stock price was down 6.4% on Friday . The company traded as low as $36.04 and last traded at $36.00. Approximately 1,813,653 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 3,607,385 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FRO. Evercore downgraded shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Pareto Securities downgraded shares of Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $39.46 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Frontline from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Frontline presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.62.

Frontline Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.03). Frontline had a net margin of 36.70% and a return on equity of 27.80%. The business had revenue of $714.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $579.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. Frontline’s revenue for the quarter was up 66.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. This is an increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 152.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Frontline by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,785 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $129,966,000 after acquiring an additional 63,432 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Frontline by 4,659.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,783,681 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $202,080,000 after purchasing an additional 5,662,172 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Frontline by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,247,120 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $51,212,000 after purchasing an additional 686,212 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Frontline by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,411,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,794,000 after purchasing an additional 217,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Frontline by 27.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 202,142 shares in the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.