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

Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 6,636 call options on the company. This is an increase of 84% compared to the typical volume of 3,605 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Frontline by 155.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,692,537 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $27,775,000 after buying an additional 1,029,034 shares in the last quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Frontline by 839.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC now owns 93,926 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,141,000 after acquiring an additional 83,926 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Frontline by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,058,260 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,118,000 after acquiring an additional 180,731 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Frontline by 17,093.7% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 79,607 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 79,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP bought a new position in Frontline during the third quarter worth $2,845,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 22.70% of the company’s stock.

Frontline Trading Down 0.1%

Frontline stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,721,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,183,041. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53 and a beta of 0.07. Frontline has a 12-month low of $12.40 and a 12-month high of $30.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.48.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 21st. The shipping company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $257.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.23 million. Frontline had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 8.89%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Frontline will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Frontline Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Frontline’s payout ratio is presently 77.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Frontline in a report on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Frontline from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore lifted their price objective on Frontline from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Frontline from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Clarkson Capital raised shares of Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.87.

Frontline Company Profile

Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO) is a leading global shipping company specializing in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and petroleum products. The company’s core business activities encompass the ownership and operation of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax tankers and Aframax vessels. Through long-term charters, spot market operations and time charters, Frontline provides flexible shipping solutions that cater to a diverse set of energy producers, refiners and trading houses worldwide.

Frontline’s fleet is geared toward high-capacity, ocean-going tankers capable of carrying large volumes of crude oil over intercontinental distances.