Frontline (NYSE:FRO) Stock Price Down 4.8% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) dropped 4.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $36.77 and last traded at $36.5860. Approximately 1,514,562 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 3,593,156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore cut shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Frontline from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Dnb Carnegie cut shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Frontline from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.00.

Frontline Trading Down 3.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85 and a beta of 0.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.80.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 22nd. The shipping company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $714.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.59 million. Frontline had a net margin of 19.31% and a return on equity of 16.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 66.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.18 EPS.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 16.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This is a positive change from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 242.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FRO. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Frontline in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 278.6% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 973 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Frontline in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 58.9% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFSG Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 1,500 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Frontline Company Profile

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.