Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Price Target to $26.00

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

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

Frontline Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:FRO opened at $19.23 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.90. Frontline has a twelve month low of $18.26 and a twelve month high of $29.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 0.06.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.03). Frontline had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 29.42%. The company had revenue of $409.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $383.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Frontline will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in Frontline in the 3rd quarter valued at $255,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline in the third quarter valued at about $998,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Frontline by 3.5% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,723 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Frontline by 120.8% during the third quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 104,557 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 57,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in Frontline in the third quarter valued at about $3,219,000. 22.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.