Magnetar Financial LLC Invests $371,000 in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 15,886 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FRO. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Frontline in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Frontline in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Frontline by 169.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,928 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares in the last quarter. Emfo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Frontline in the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Frontline by 150.6% in the first quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,619 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,175 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRO has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Frontline in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Frontline from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.58.

Frontline Price Performance

Shares of FRO stock traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $24.35. 198,174 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,815,637. The company has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.03. Frontline plc has a 12-month low of $15.94 and a 12-month high of $29.39. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.24). Frontline had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 23.14%. The company had revenue of $578.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $380.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Frontline plc will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.18%. This is a boost from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.71%.

About Frontline

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.