Smead Capital Management Inc. Purchases 13,376 Shares of Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 500,827 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 13,376 shares during the period. Frontline comprises approximately 0.2% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Frontline were worth $10,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Frontline by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,717,845 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $51,567,000 after buying an additional 214,352 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Frontline by 4.6% in the first quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,684,450 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $77,574,000 after acquiring an additional 207,450 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 102.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,483,826 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $54,434,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271,724 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Frontline by 58.8% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,780,284 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $45,987,000 after buying an additional 1,029,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Frontline by 594.5% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,360,781 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,804,000 after buying an additional 2,020,869 shares during the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $22.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $17.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Frontline from $23.00 to $22.30 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 1st.

Frontline Stock Performance

FRO stock traded down $1.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $22.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,472,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,196,061. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.78. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.06. Frontline plc has a 12 month low of $13.35 and a 12 month high of $25.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $23.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.84.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The shipping company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.05). Frontline had a return on equity of 26.00% and a net margin of 35.95%. The company had revenue of $415.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Frontline plc will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.48%. This is a positive change from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.17%.

About Frontline

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.