Forest Avenue Capital Management LP Reduces Holdings in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Forest Avenue Capital Management LP lowered its position in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,110,248 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 319,661 shares during the quarter. Frontline comprises 3.1% of Forest Avenue Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP’s holdings in Frontline were worth $25,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Frontline in the third quarter worth about $783,000. Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in 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 period. FCG Investment Co purchased a new position in Frontline in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $823,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Frontline during the 2nd quarter valued at $548,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Frontline by 5,319.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,292,977 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $123,750,000 after acquiring an additional 5,195,312 shares during the period. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FRO shares. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. BTIG Research raised Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Frontline to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Frontline in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.26.

Frontline Stock Down 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE FRO opened at $18.07 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.68. Frontline plc has a twelve month low of $18.02 and a twelve month high of $29.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last posted 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 during 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Frontline plc will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Frontline Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.23%.

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.