Short Interest in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) Expands By 10.3%

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,080,000 shares, an increase of 10.3% from the December 15th total of 5,510,000 shares. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,820,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Frontline

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Frontline by 1,326.2% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 527,470 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,053,000 after purchasing an additional 490,486 shares during the period. M&G PLC raised its position in shares of Frontline by 27.2% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 1,110,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,164,000 after acquiring an additional 237,446 shares during the last quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Frontline by 12.7% in the second quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,429,909 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $36,834,000 after acquiring an additional 161,518 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in shares of Frontline in the third quarter worth approximately $3,219,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Frontline by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,932,842 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $50,683,000 after purchasing an additional 138,011 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FRO shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Frontline from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.83 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BTIG Research upgraded Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds upgraded Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.03.

Frontline Price Performance

Shares of FRO traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $17.36. The stock had a trading volume of 4,011,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,416,114. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 0.01. Frontline has a 12 month low of $13.17 and a 12 month high of $29.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.59.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 27th. The shipping company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.05). Frontline had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 19.25%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. Research analysts expect that Frontline will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.83%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. Frontline’s payout ratio is 55.51%.

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.