Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) Short Interest Update

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,210,000 shares, a decline of 6.0% from the August 15th total of 7,670,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days. Currently, 5.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FRO shares. StockNews.com raised Frontline to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Frontline from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Frontline in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Frontline currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.58.

Frontline Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE FRO opened at $23.24 on Wednesday. Frontline has a twelve month low of $16.41 and a twelve month high of $29.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.46. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.04.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.03). Frontline had a net margin of 29.42% and a return on equity of 19.73%. The business had revenue of $409.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $383.88 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Analysts expect that Frontline will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.67%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.71%.

Institutional Trading of Frontline

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FRO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Frontline by 5,319.5% during 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 in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Frontline in the first quarter valued at about $25,074,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Frontline by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,057,691 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $21,207,000 after acquiring an additional 567,900 shares in the last quarter. Rovida Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Frontline in the fourth quarter worth about $4,260,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline during the fourth quarter worth about $2,811,000. 22.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.