Todd Asset Management LLC Purchases New Position in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Todd Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 140,200 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $2,811,000. Todd Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of Frontline at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Paradiem LLC acquired a new position in shares of Frontline in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,822,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Frontline by 169.2% during the 4th 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. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in Frontline by 187.9% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 49,839 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 32,526 shares during the period. Glenorchy Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Frontline during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,173,000. Finally, F M Investments LLC raised its stake in Frontline by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 138,700 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,781,000 after buying an additional 9,200 shares during the period. 22.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRO has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Frontline from $23.00 to $22.30 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Frontline from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Frontline from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Frontline from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st.

Frontline Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Frontline stock traded up $0.17 on Friday, hitting $24.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,144,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,579,293. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 0.03. Frontline plc has a 1 year low of $13.35 and a 1 year high of $25.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.41 and a 200-day moving average of $22.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The shipping company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $415.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $280.36 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 26.00% and a net margin of 35.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Frontline plc will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Frontline's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.98%. Frontline's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.17%.

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.