Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 2,571 Shares of Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Kovack Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,912 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 2,571 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Frontline were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FRO. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Frontline in the first quarter worth approximately $224,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline during the 1st quarter valued at $865,000. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Frontline during the 1st quarter worth $25,074,000. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Frontline in the first quarter worth $928,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BTIG Research raised Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Frontline from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Frontline in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Frontline to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.06.

Frontline Stock Performance

Shares of Frontline stock opened at $19.30 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.95. Frontline plc has a 52-week low of $18.26 and a 52-week high of $29.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $409.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.88 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 29.42%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Frontline plc will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Frontline Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Frontline’s payout ratio is 93.23%.

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.