Traders Purchase High Volume of Frontline Call Options (NYSE:FRO)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 7th, 2023

Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO – Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 8,963 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 233% compared to the average volume of 2,691 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Frontline

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRO. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Frontline by 182.2% in the 1st quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,047,159 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $100,142,000 after acquiring an additional 3,904,292 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Frontline by 102.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,483,826 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $54,434,000 after acquiring an additional 2,271,724 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in Frontline in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,516,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Frontline by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 5,133,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $62,324,000 after buying an additional 2,149,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Frontline by 594.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,360,781 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,804,000 after buying an additional 2,020,869 shares during the last quarter. 25.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Frontline Stock Performance

Shares of FRO opened at $18.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $17.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.00. Frontline has a 52 week low of $10.32 and a 52 week high of $19.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.21.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shipping company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.10. Frontline had a return on equity of 31.87% and a net margin of 42.38%. The firm had revenue of $522.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $353.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Frontline will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This is a positive change from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 14th. Frontline’s payout ratio is presently 86.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $17.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Frontline from $19.20 to $18.20 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Frontline in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Frontline in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.40.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on FRO

Frontline Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.