AE Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO)

AE Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in Frontline plc (NYSE:FRO) by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,695 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 5,704 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Frontline were worth $430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Frontline by 5,319.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,292,977 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $123,750,000 after buying an additional 5,195,312 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 138,011 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Frontline during the first quarter valued at about $25,074,000. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Frontline by 115.9% during the fourth quarter. Forest Avenue Capital Management LP now owns 1,057,691 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $21,207,000 after purchasing an additional 567,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paradiem LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Frontline by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 366,373 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,438,000 after purchasing an additional 7,685 shares in the last quarter. 22.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Frontline Price Performance

FRO opened at $22.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Frontline plc has a 1 year low of $17.02 and a 1 year high of $29.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.42. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 0.04.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 30th. The shipping company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $409.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $383.88 million. Frontline had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 29.42%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Frontline plc will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Frontline Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.85%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Frontline from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Frontline to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Frontline in a report on Friday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.58.

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.