Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Trims Stake in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its stake in shares of Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) by 75.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,994 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 561,979 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned approximately 0.08% of Frontline worth $2,583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Frontline by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 670,581 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $15,188,000 after acquiring an additional 32,531 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Frontline by 1,326.2% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 527,470 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,053,000 after acquiring an additional 490,486 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Frontline by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 286,612 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,845 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in Frontline by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 143,510 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,279,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in Frontline during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,219,000. 22.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Frontline from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Kepler Capital Markets cut 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.46.

Frontline Stock Performance

FRO opened at $15.41 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.29 and a beta of -0.04. 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 50 day simple moving average is $16.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.57. Frontline plc has a 1-year low of $13.17 and a 1-year high of $29.39.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The shipping company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The business had revenue of $425.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $273.16 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 25.64%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Frontline plc will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Frontline Company Profile

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.