Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $998,000 in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 43,990 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Frontline by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,723 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Frontline by 120.8% in the third quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 104,557 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,389,000 after acquiring an additional 57,206 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new position in shares of Frontline during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,219,000. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Frontline during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $448,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 106,015 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 13,472 shares during the period. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on FRO shares. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Frontline from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.83 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BTIG Research raised shares of Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Frontline from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Frontline to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Frontline to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Frontline presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.36.

Frontline Stock Performance

Frontline stock opened at $13.34 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.17. 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 plc has a 1-year low of $13.33 and a 1-year high of $29.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion and a PE ratio of 5.44.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 27th. The shipping company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.05). Frontline had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 25.64%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Frontline plc will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.19%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.51%.

Frontline 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.