Fiera Capital Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Fiera Capital Corp lowered its stake in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 435,358 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 18,820 shares during the quarter. Fiera Capital Corp owned 0.20% of Frontline worth $11,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Frontline during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its position in Frontline by 75.0% in the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $56,000 after buying an additional 2,144 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake 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 worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,469 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Frontline by 150.6% during the 1st quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,619 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 2,175 shares in the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on FRO. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Frontline in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Frontline to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.58.

Frontline Stock Performance

NYSE FRO opened at $23.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Frontline plc has a 1-year low of $15.94 and a 1-year high of $29.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 0.03.

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

Frontline Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.78%. Frontline’s payout ratio is currently 86.71%.

Frontline 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.