Fearnley Asset Management AS Acquires New Stake in Frontline PLC $FRO

Fearnley Asset Management AS acquired a new stake in Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 317,291 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,997,000. Frontline makes up 3.2% of Fearnley Asset Management AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. lifted its stake in shares of Frontline by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. now owns 38,601 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 73,544 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Frontline by 3.5% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 16,204 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Frontline by 6.3% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 18,163 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Frontline during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Piper Sandler cut Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Pareto Securities downgraded Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $39.46 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Frontline from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on Frontline from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.12.

Frontline Stock Performance

NYSE:FRO opened at $40.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Frontline PLC has a fifty-two week low of $16.25 and a fifty-two week high of $40.96. The stock has a market cap of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.02. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.52.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.03). Frontline had a net margin of 36.70% and a return on equity of 27.80%. The company had revenue of $714.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 66.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.2%. This is an increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Frontline’s payout ratio is presently 152.71%.

Frontline 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.