Range Financial Group LLC Invests $579,000 in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 40,827 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FRO. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Frontline by 234.6% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 35,116 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $905,000 after buying an additional 24,620 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Frontline by 9.7% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 9,840 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Frontline during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Frontline by 6.3% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 116,988 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,118,000 after purchasing an additional 6,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,932,842 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $50,683,000 after purchasing an additional 138,011 shares in the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Frontline Trading Up 11.6 %

Shares of NYSE FRO traded up $1.66 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.93. The stock had a trading volume of 8,170,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,773,888. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 0.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.12. Frontline plc has a 1 year low of $13.17 and a 1 year high of $29.39.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 27th. The shipping company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.05). Frontline had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 19.25%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Frontline plc will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FRO. Fearnley Fonds raised Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.83 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BTIG Research raised shares of Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Frontline from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.36.

Frontline 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.