Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,670,000 shares, a decrease of 9.0% from the July 31st total of 8,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days. Approximately 5.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Frontline in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Frontline in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 75.0% in the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 17,866.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,156 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 2,144 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 169.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,928 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 2,469 shares during the period. 22.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FRO. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Frontline in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Frontline to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Frontline from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.58.

Frontline Price Performance

NYSE:FRO traded down $1.14 on Tuesday, reaching $23.01. The stock had a trading volume of 3,043,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,766,633. The company has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 0.03. Frontline has a 1-year low of $15.94 and a 1-year high of $29.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.51.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.03). Frontline had a return on equity of 23.14% and a net margin of 32.94%. The company had revenue of $409.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Frontline will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Frontline Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.71%.

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.