Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Frontier Oil (NYSE: FTO) popped 10% in intraday trading today after reporting better-than-expected earnings and reinstating its quarterly dividend.

So what: Expenses declined even as fourth-quarter revenue grew 39% year over year and drove EPS of $0.36, compared to a loss of $0.81 in the year-ago quarter. In addition to reinstating a $0.06-per-share quarterly dividend, the company announced a $0.28 special dividend.

Now what: Management teams hate canceling regular dividends, so reinstating the quarterly dividend is an important signal of confidence in the outlook. In addition, the CEO stated, "2010 marked a turning point," and "the operating environment has materially improved." While there was no guidance, management's confident outlook increases comfort with the 2011 consensus forecast, which results in a forward P/E ratio of only 12.2 times.

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