Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $81.85 and last traded at $77.8770, with a volume of 447548 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on STNG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America downgraded Scorpio Tankers from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Scorpio Tankers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Scorpio Tankers from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.67.

Scorpio Tankers Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.37 and its 200-day moving average is $58.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12 and a beta of -0.25. The company has a current ratio of 9.33, a quick ratio of 9.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The shipping company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.25. Scorpio Tankers had a net margin of 36.70% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The firm had revenue of $252.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Scorpio Tankers Inc. will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scorpio Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Scorpio Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Scorpio Tankers’s payout ratio is 25.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scorpio Tankers

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in Scorpio Tankers by 95.3% in the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 11,540 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 5,630 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 391.3% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 37,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 29,548 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Scorpio Tankers in the fourth quarter valued at $4,864,000. Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new position in Scorpio Tankers during the 4th quarter worth $351,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Scorpio Tankers during the 4th quarter worth about $243,000. 54.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.