Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) Short Interest Update

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,700,000 shares, an increase of 7.4% from the October 15th total of 7,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,920,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Approximately 5.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com raised Frontline to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Frontline from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. BTIG Research raised Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Frontline presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Frontline by 5,319.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,292,977 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $123,750,000 after buying an additional 5,195,312 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Frontline by 1,326.2% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 527,470 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,053,000 after acquiring an additional 490,486 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC grew its holdings in Frontline by 27.2% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 1,110,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,164,000 after purchasing an additional 237,446 shares during the period. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP increased its stake in Frontline by 12.7% in the second quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,429,909 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $36,834,000 after purchasing an additional 161,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new stake in Frontline in the third quarter valued at $3,219,000. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Frontline Price Performance

Shares of FRO opened at $20.44 on Tuesday. 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 has a 12 month low of $18.26 and a 12 month high of $29.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.87.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 29.42% and a return on equity of 19.73%. The firm had revenue of $409.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $383.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Frontline will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Frontline Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.13%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.23%.

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.