Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases New Shares in Frontline PLC $FRO

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 33,006 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,151,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FRO. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Frontline in the 3rd quarter valued at about $437,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Frontline by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,411,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,794,000 after purchasing an additional 217,760 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Frontline during the fourth quarter worth approximately $362,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Frontline during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $494,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Frontline by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,903,785 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $129,966,000 after purchasing an additional 63,432 shares in the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Frontline Trading Up 4.1%

NYSE FRO traded up $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,907,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,328,644. Frontline PLC has a twelve month low of $18.04 and a twelve month high of $43.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 0.01. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.35 and a 200 day moving average of $33.08.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $714.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $579.59 million. Frontline had a net margin of 36.70% and a return on equity of 27.80%. The business’s revenue was up 66.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $1.55 dividend. This is a boost from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 152.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on FRO. Evercore cut shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Danske cut Frontline to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Pareto Securities downgraded Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $39.46 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, May 25th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Frontline from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Frontline from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.62.

About Frontline

Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO) is a leading global shipping company specializing in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and petroleum products. The company’s core business activities encompass the ownership and operation of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax tankers and Aframax vessels. Through long-term charters, spot market operations and time charters, Frontline provides flexible shipping solutions that cater to a diverse set of energy producers, refiners and trading houses worldwide.

Frontline’s fleet is geared toward high-capacity, ocean-going tankers capable of carrying large volumes of crude oil over intercontinental distances.