Frontline plc Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.34 (NYSE:FRO)

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 27th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.34 per share by the shipping company on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th.

Frontline has raised its dividend payment by an average of 17.1% annually over the last three years. Frontline has a payout ratio of 81.0% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Equities research analysts expect Frontline to earn $3.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 77.5%.

Frontline Stock Down 3.6 %

FRO traded down $0.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,801,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,874,372. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.53. Frontline has a 52-week low of $16.10 and a 52-week high of $29.39.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.03). Frontline had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 25.64%. The business had revenue of $409.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $383.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Frontline will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FRO shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Frontline in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Frontline to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. BTIG Research raised shares of Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Frontline currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.26.

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.