Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) Plans $0.34 Quarterly Dividend

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 29th,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 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 fall. 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 Performance

Shares of NYSE FRO traded down $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.18. 2,801,078 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,874,246. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.03 and its 200 day moving average is $23.53. Frontline has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $29.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $409.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.88 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 25.64%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Frontline will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FRO shares. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. 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 report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Frontline to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Frontline in a research report on Wednesday. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.