Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.6150.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Evercore lowered shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Danske downgraded shares of Frontline to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Frontline from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Frontline from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th.

Frontline Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of Frontline stock opened at $38.44 on Tuesday. Frontline has a 12-month low of $18.26 and a 12-month high of $43.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 0.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.38.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 16.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Frontline’s payout ratio is currently 152.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Frontline by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,785 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $129,966,000 after acquiring an additional 63,432 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Frontline by 4,659.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,783,681 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $202,080,000 after purchasing an additional 5,662,172 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Frontline by 44.0% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,247,120 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $51,212,000 after purchasing an additional 686,212 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Frontline during the second quarter worth $50,846,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Frontline by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,411,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,794,000 after purchasing an additional 217,760 shares during the period. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.