Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Frontline (NYSE:FRO)

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 15,687 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 323% compared to the average daily volume of 3,705 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Frontline

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted 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 valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 17,428 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Frontline during the 4th quarter worth about $84,000. Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ acquired a new stake in Frontline in the 4th quarter worth about $415,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Frontline by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,921 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 4,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 148.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 33,121 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 19,783 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FRO. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded shares of Frontline from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $15.83 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Frontline from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.03.

Frontline Stock Performance

Frontline stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.49. The company had a trading volume of 2,422,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,194,177. The company has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54. Frontline has a 12-month low of $13.17 and a 12-month high of $29.39. The company's fifty day moving average is $15.71 and its 200-day moving average is $20.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 27th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.05). Frontline had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 25.64%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Frontline will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.36%. Frontline's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.51%.

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.