Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Clarkson Capital upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $26.32 and last traded at $26.2450, with a volume of 1669816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.17.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research raised their price target on Frontline from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Frontline from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Frontline from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Frontline from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Frontline in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Frontline presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.62.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Frontline

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Frontline by 691.5% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,632 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 11,036 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Frontline by 155.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,692,537 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $27,775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,034 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Frontline by 20.6% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,058,260 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $24,118,000 after purchasing an additional 180,731 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in Frontline by 17,093.7% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 79,607 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 79,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 111 Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Frontline in the second quarter valued at approximately $603,000. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Frontline Trading Up 4.0%

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69 and a beta of 0.08.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 21st. The shipping company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $257.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.23 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 12.23%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Frontline PLC will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Frontline’s payout ratio is 77.55%.

Frontline Company Profile

Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO) is a leading global shipping company specializing in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and petroleum products. The company’s core business activities encompass the ownership and operation of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax tankers and Aframax vessels. Through long-term charters, spot market operations and time charters, Frontline provides flexible shipping solutions that cater to a diverse set of energy producers, refiners and trading houses worldwide.

Frontline’s fleet is geared toward high-capacity, ocean-going tankers capable of carrying large volumes of crude oil over intercontinental distances.