Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Hits New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $13.08 and last traded at $13.01, with a volume of 342099 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Kepler Capital Markets set a $12.49 price target on shares of Frontline in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Frontline from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.62.

Frontline Trading Up 6.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.20. The business's 50 day moving average is $16.19 and its 200-day moving average is $17.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The shipping company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Frontline had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company had revenue of $425.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Frontline plc will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Remove Ads

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Frontline's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Frontline by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,493,085 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $75,502,000 after acquiring an additional 51,073 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline during the fourth quarter valued at $41,447,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Frontline by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,378,037 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $19,554,000 after purchasing an additional 297,437 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Frontline by 137.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,090,427 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $15,473,000 after buying an additional 630,685 shares during the period. Finally, Hartree Partners LP lifted its stake in Frontline by 482.6% during the fourth quarter. Hartree Partners LP now owns 1,061,000 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $15,047,000 after buying an additional 878,885 shares in the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.