Leonteq Securities AG Acquires Shares of 16,612 Frontline PLC $FRO

Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,612 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Frontline by 2.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,840,353 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $133,738,000 after buying an additional 164,776 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 185.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 606,443 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,821,000 after purchasing an additional 394,226 shares during the last quarter. Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline in the third quarter valued at about $2,845,000. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline in the third quarter valued at about $437,000. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 18.2% in 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 during the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Frontline Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FRO opened at $37.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85 and a beta of 0.04. Frontline PLC has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $39.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.80.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $714.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.59 million. Frontline had a net margin of 19.31% and a return on equity of 16.51%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 66.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This is a boost from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 242.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Dnb Carnegie downgraded shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Frontline from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore downgraded shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Frontline currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.00.

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.