Frontline PLC $FRO Shares Purchased by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) by 195.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 226,079 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 149,590 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Frontline were worth $4,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Frontline in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,676,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Frontline by 44.0% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,247,120 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $51,212,000 after acquiring an additional 686,212 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Frontline by 256.9% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 826,343 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $18,031,000 after acquiring an additional 594,811 shares during the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Frontline in the fourth quarter valued at $11,917,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its position in Frontline by 882.4% in the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 583,166 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,725,000 after purchasing an additional 523,806 shares during the period. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore cut Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Pareto Securities lowered shares of Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $39.46 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 25th. Danske cut shares of Frontline to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Frontline from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.62.

Frontline Stock Performance

NYSE FRO opened at $36.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The company has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $37.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.04. Frontline PLC has a 1-year low of $17.87 and a 1-year high of $43.10.

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

Frontline Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. This is a boost from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.0%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 152.71%.

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.