Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.20.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research report on Monday, December 15th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research cut Scorpio Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Bank of America cut their price target on Scorpio Tankers from $73.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research report on Thursday, October 30th.

Scorpio Tankers Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE STNG opened at $51.60 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73 and a beta of -0.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $57.61 and its 200 day moving average is $52.19. Scorpio Tankers has a twelve month low of $30.63 and a twelve month high of $65.52. The company has a quick ratio of 4.75, a current ratio of 4.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.10. Scorpio Tankers had a return on equity of 7.42% and a net margin of 32.01%.The business had revenue of $232.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $228.09 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Scorpio Tankers will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scorpio Tankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Scorpio Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Scorpio Tankers’s payout ratio is presently 28.43%.

Institutional Trading of Scorpio Tankers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of STNG. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Scorpio Tankers in the second quarter worth about $30,890,000. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Scorpio Tankers during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,471,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 68.3% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 806,049 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $45,179,000 after acquiring an additional 326,973 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Scorpio Tankers by 91.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 642,673 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,148,000 after acquiring an additional 307,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Scorpio Tankers by 598.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 357,120 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,974,000 after acquiring an additional 305,978 shares in the last quarter. 54.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Scorpio Tankers

Scorpio Tankers Inc (NYSE: STNG) is an independent provider of marine transportation services, specializing in the carriage of refined petroleum products. The company’s core operations focus on moving clean petroleum cargoes—such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and naphtha—on a global scale. By catering to both spot and time charter markets, Scorpio Tankers enables energy companies, refiners and traders to manage their supply chains with flexibility and reliability.

The company’s fleet is composed of modern, eco-designed product tankers, including medium range (MR) and long range (LR) vessels.