Man Group plc Takes Position in Frontline PLC $FRO

Man Group plc bought a new stake in Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 21,289 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $741,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Frontline during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Frontline during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Frontline by 278.6% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 973 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Frontline during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Frontline by 58.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. 22.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Nordea Equity Research cut Frontline to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Frontline from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Danske cut shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Pareto Securities lowered shares of Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $39.46 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Frontline has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.62.

Frontline Price Performance

Frontline stock opened at $45.47 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The company has a market capitalization of $10.12 billion, a PE ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 0.05. Frontline PLC has a one year low of $20.47 and a one year high of $45.95.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 28th. The shipping company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.74 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $943.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $758.89 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 44.24% and a net margin of 49.47%.The business’s revenue was up 96.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Friday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $2.61 per share. This is an increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 18th. This represents a $10.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 23.0%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is 92.95%.

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.