Oxbow Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Frontline PLC $FRO

Oxbow Advisors LLC cut its stake in Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) by 46.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,166 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 181,293 shares during the quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC’s holdings in Frontline were worth $4,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Frontline by 32.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 26,342 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 6,424 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,587,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Frontline by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 185,226 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,751,000 after buying an additional 20,370 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Frontline by 691.5% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,632 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 11,036 shares during the period. Finally, 111 Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $603,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Frontline in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Frontline from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Frontline from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Frontline from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised shares of Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Frontline currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.62.

Frontline Trading Up 3.1%

NYSE:FRO traded up $0.79 on Friday, reaching $26.10. 3,185,915 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,963,799. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63 and a beta of 0.08. Frontline PLC has a 52-week low of $12.40 and a 52-week high of $26.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.61 and a 200-day moving average of $22.26.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 21st. The shipping company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $257.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.23 million. Frontline had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 8.89%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Frontline PLC will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Frontline’s payout ratio is presently 77.55%.

Frontline 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.