Virtu Financial LLC Acquires 17,134 Shares of Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC increased its holdings in Frontline PLC by 66.8% in the first quarter, bringing their total to 42,796 shares valued at $636,000.
• Research firms have mixed ratings on Frontline, with a consensus price target of $20.62, indicating a potential upside from its current trading level.
• Frontline announced a $0.18 dividend with a yield of 397.0%, reflecting a strong return to shareholders despite a 26% revenue drop compared to the previous year.

Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO - Free Report) by 66.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,796 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,134 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Frontline were worth $636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FRO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,547,556 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $81,538,000 after acquiring an additional 54,471 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 137.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,090,427 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $15,473,000 after acquiring an additional 630,685 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 730,979 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,355,000 after acquiring an additional 58,386 shares in the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new position in shares of Frontline during the 4th quarter valued at $9,224,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 761.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 648,836 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $9,635,000 after acquiring an additional 573,544 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.70% of the company's stock.

Frontline Stock Up 1.0%

Frontline stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.80. 1,346,297 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,091,448. Frontline PLC has a 1 year low of $12.40 and a 1 year high of $25.68. The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.20.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 23rd. The shipping company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.18. The company had revenue of $427.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $252.26 million. Frontline had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 12.67%. The company's revenue was down 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Frontline PLC will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 12th. This represents a yield of 397.0%. Frontline's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FRO shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Frontline from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Frontline from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.62.

About Frontline

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.