New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases 28,931 Shares of Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO - Free Report) by 186.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,427 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 28,931 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in Frontline were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Frontline by 175.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 140,103 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 89,284 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of Frontline during the 3rd quarter worth $523,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Frontline during the 3rd quarter worth $1,324,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Frontline during the 3rd quarter worth $1,775,000. Finally, Emfo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Frontline during the 4th quarter worth $80,000. 22.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FRO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Frontline from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Frontline from $23.00 to $22.30 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Frontline from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Frontline Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of FRO traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $26.56. 1,182,515 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,076,487. Frontline plc has a 52 week low of $13.35 and a 52 week high of $26.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.34.

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

Frontline Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.57%. This is a boost from Frontline's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Frontline's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.17%.

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.