Marshall Wace LLP Increases Stock Position in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO - Free Report) by 137.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,090,427 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 630,685 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.49% of Frontline worth $15,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FRO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Frontline by 65.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 71,972 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 28,478 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Frontline in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Frontline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $342,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Frontline by 164.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 28,053 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 17,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Frontline in the 4th quarter valued at $579,000. 22.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FRO shares. Kepler Capital Markets set a $12.49 price objective on shares of Frontline in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Frontline from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Frontline has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.62.

Frontline Stock Performance

Shares of FRO traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $16.57. The stock had a trading volume of 3,991,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,381,366. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.20. Frontline plc has a 52 week low of $12.40 and a 52 week high of $29.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.89.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The shipping company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20. The business had revenue of $425.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $273.16 million. Frontline had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Frontline's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Frontline plc will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Frontline's payout ratio is 36.04%.

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.