Smead Capital Management Inc. Acquires 32,531 Shares of Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Smead Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 670,581 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 32,531 shares during the quarter. Frontline makes up 0.2% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Frontline were worth $15,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Frontline in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $783,000. Edge Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Frontline by 31.8% in the second quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 413,096 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,641,000 after purchasing an additional 99,765 shares during the last quarter. FCG Investment Co bought a new position in shares of Frontline during the third quarter valued at $823,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline during the second quarter valued at $548,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Frontline by 5,319.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,292,977 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $123,750,000 after buying an additional 5,195,312 shares during the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRO has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Frontline to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BTIG Research raised Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Frontline from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Frontline from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.26.

Frontline Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FRO opened at $20.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.87. 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 plc has a 52 week low of $18.26 and a 52 week high of $29.39.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.03). The company 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 19.73% and a net margin of 29.42%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Frontline plc will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Frontline Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.23%.

Frontline Profile

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.