Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Given Buy Rating at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group restated their buy rating on shares of Frontline (NYSE:FRO) in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $26.00 target price on the shipping company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BTIG Research raised shares of Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Frontline to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.26.

Frontline Price Performance

FRO opened at $16.18 on Wednesday. Frontline has a one year low of $16.10 and a one year high of $29.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.53.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.03). Frontline had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $409.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.88 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Frontline will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.41%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Frontline

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Frontline in the third quarter worth $783,000. Edge Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Frontline by 31.8% in the second quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 413,096 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,641,000 after purchasing an additional 99,765 shares during the period. FCG Investment Co acquired a new stake in Frontline in the third quarter worth $823,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Frontline in the second quarter worth $548,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Frontline by 5,319.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,292,977 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $123,750,000 after purchasing an additional 5,195,312 shares during the period. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Frontline Company Profile

Frontline plc, a shipping company, engages in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and oil products worldwide. It owns and operates oil and product tankers. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated a fleet of 70 vessels. It is also involved in the charter, purchase, and sale of vessels. The company was founded in 1985 and is based in Limassol, Cyprus.