Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Price Target Cut to $26.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) had its target price reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $30.00 to $26.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI reduced 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. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Frontline to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.26.

Frontline Price Performance

NYSE:FRO traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $19.42. 829,419 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,840,931. Frontline has a 52-week low of $18.26 and a 52-week 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.92.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $409.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $383.88 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 29.42%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Frontline will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.77%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.23%.

Institutional Trading of Frontline

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 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 valued at $123,750,000 after acquiring an additional 5,195,312 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Frontline by 7.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,932,842 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $50,683,000 after acquiring an additional 138,011 shares in the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Frontline by 12.7% in the second quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,429,909 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $36,834,000 after acquiring an additional 161,518 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC raised its holdings in Frontline by 27.2% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 1,110,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,164,000 after acquiring an additional 237,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Frontline in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,074,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

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.