Banque Pictet & Cie SA Trims Position in Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA trimmed its position in shares of Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO - Free Report) by 43.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,640 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 23,000 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings in Frontline were worth $440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FRO. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Frontline during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 331.8% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 6,166 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 4,738 shares in the last quarter. Nexpoint Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Frontline during the 4th quarter valued at about $159,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 5,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,200 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Frontline during the 4th quarter valued at about $173,000. 22.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Frontline Trading Up 3.4%

FRO traded up $0.62 on Friday, hitting $19.07. 2,389,312 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,705,025. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82. Frontline PLC has a 12 month low of $12.40 and a 12 month high of $25.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.25.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 23rd. The shipping company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.18. Frontline had a return on equity of 12.67% and a net margin of 17.67%. The business had revenue of $427.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $252.26 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. Frontline's revenue for the quarter was down 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Frontline PLC will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Frontline Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.97%. Frontline's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FRO. Wall Street Zen cut Frontline from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Frontline from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets set a $12.49 price target on Frontline in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.62.

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.