Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Frontline (NYSE:FRO)

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 4,374 call options on the company. This is an increase of 70% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,580 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Frontline

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Frontline by 7.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,932,842 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $50,683,000 after acquiring an additional 138,011 shares during the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Frontline by 12.7% during the second quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,429,909 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $36,834,000 after acquiring an additional 161,518 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC grew its position in shares of Frontline by 27.2% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 1,110,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,164,000 after acquiring an additional 237,446 shares during the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Frontline by 5.1% during the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 670,581 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $15,188,000 after acquiring an additional 32,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Frontline by 1,326.2% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 527,470 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,053,000 after purchasing an additional 490,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. 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 research report on Monday, October 7th. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.83 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Frontline from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.36.

Frontline Stock Up 10.9 %

Shares of NYSE:FRO traded up $1.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.83. The company had a trading volume of 4,618,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,816,417. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.01. Frontline has a one year low of $13.17 and a one year high of $29.39.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 27th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 business posted $0.36 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Frontline will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.59%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.51%.

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.