Swiss National Bank Decreases Stake in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO - Free Report) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 264,758 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 30,912 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.12% of Frontline worth $5,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FRO. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline in the third quarter valued at $10,682,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Frontline by 6,022.8% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 502,682 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $9,427,000 after acquiring an additional 494,472 shares during the period. Paradiem LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline in the fourth quarter valued at $6,822,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Frontline by 17.2% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,114,841 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $20,537,000 after acquiring an additional 163,804 shares during the period. Finally, Glenorchy Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline in the fourth quarter valued at $3,173,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.70% of the company's stock.

Frontline Trading Up 0.6 %

FRO traded up $0.16 on Friday, reaching $27.48. 753,341 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,455,775. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.52. Frontline plc has a one year low of $13.35 and a one year high of $27.63.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 35.95% and a return on equity of 26.00%. The business had revenue of $415.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. Frontline's revenue for the quarter was down 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Frontline plc will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders 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 is an increase from Frontline's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.39%. Frontline's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FRO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Frontline from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Frontline from $23.00 to $22.30 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Frontline from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, March 21st.

Frontline Company 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.