Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.55

Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of 1.55 per share by the shipping company on Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 16.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This is a 50.5% increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03.

Frontline has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years. Frontline has a payout ratio of 136.9% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments.

Frontline Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of Frontline stock opened at $37.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85 and a beta of 0.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.80. Frontline has a 1-year low of $16.25 and a 1-year high of $39.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $714.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $579.59 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 19.31%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 66.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Frontline

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in Frontline by 2.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,717 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. raised its position in Frontline by 1.1% in the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. now owns 38,601 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Frontline by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 73,544 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Frontline by 58.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Finally, NFSG Corp raised its position in Frontline by 50.0% in the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 1,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

About Frontline

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.