Jefferies Financial Group Has Lowered Expectations for Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Stock Price

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) had its target price trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $30.00 to $26.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on FRO. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Frontline to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Frontline from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.26.

Frontline Price Performance

NYSE:FRO opened at $19.23 on Thursday. Frontline has a 52 week low of $18.26 and a 52 week high of $29.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $21.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 0.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.03). Frontline had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 29.42%. The business had revenue of $409.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $383.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Frontline will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Frontline Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.90%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Frontline during the first quarter worth about $224,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new position in Frontline during the 1st quarter worth approximately $865,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,074,000. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Frontline in the 1st quarter valued at $928,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 5,319.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,292,977 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $123,750,000 after purchasing an additional 5,195,312 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

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.