Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 2,571 Shares of Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Kovack Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,912 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 2,571 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Frontline were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FRO. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Frontline in the third quarter worth $783,000. Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 413,096 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,641,000 after buying an additional 99,765 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in Frontline during the first quarter valued at about $25,074,000. FCG Investment Co purchased a new stake in Frontline during the third quarter worth about $823,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Frontline during the second quarter worth about $548,000. 22.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Frontline Stock Performance

Shares of FRO stock opened at $19.30 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.95. Frontline plc has a 1 year low of $18.26 and a 1 year high of $29.39. 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 (NYSE:FRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.03). Frontline had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 29.42%. The company had revenue of $409.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $383.88 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Frontline plc will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Frontline Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.85%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Frontline in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Fearnley Fonds raised Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Frontline from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. BTIG Research raised Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Frontline to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.06.

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.