Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Frontline (NYSE:FRO)

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 9,294 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 121% compared to the typical volume of 4,210 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRO. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Frontline in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $425,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Frontline by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 48,706 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 4,716 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Frontline by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 164,856 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after buying an additional 67,445 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Frontline by 62.7% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 28,503 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 10,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Frontline in the fourth quarter worth about $312,000. 22.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on FRO. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on 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 set a $12.49 price objective on shares of Frontline in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.62.

Frontline Stock Performance

NYSE FRO opened at $12.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $16.37 and a 200 day moving average of $17.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Frontline has a twelve month low of $12.40 and a twelve month high of $29.39.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The shipping company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $425.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $273.16 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 25.64%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Frontline will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.24%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

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.