BTIG Research Upgrades Frontline (NYSE:FRO) to “Buy”

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at BTIG Research from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $30.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 19.88% from the stock’s current price.

FRO has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Frontline to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Frontline in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Frontline from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.06.

Frontline Stock Performance

NYSE:FRO opened at $25.03 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.04. Frontline has a twelve month low of $18.34 and a twelve month high of $29.39.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $409.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 prior year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Frontline will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontline

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 5,195,312 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Frontline in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,074,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Frontline by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,057,691 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $21,207,000 after purchasing an additional 567,900 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Frontline in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,811,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Frontline by 7.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,932,842 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $50,683,000 after purchasing an additional 138,011 shares in the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Frontline Company 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.