Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) Trading Up 4.7% – Time to Buy?

Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG)’s share price was up 4.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $70.26 and last traded at $69.3880. Approximately 784,696 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 1,183,636 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on STNG. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research note on Monday, March 9th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a report on Friday, February 13th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Scorpio Tankers from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.67.

Scorpio Tankers Stock Up 2.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 9.23 and a current ratio of 9.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65 and a beta of -0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.26.

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

Scorpio Tankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Scorpio Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Scorpio Tankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scorpio Tankers

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marex Group plc acquired a new stake in Scorpio Tankers in the second quarter worth $901,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Scorpio Tankers by 234.1% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 38,524 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 26,994 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Scorpio Tankers by 0.3% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,944,875 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $165,064,000 after buying an additional 7,868 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 120,862 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,774,000 after purchasing an additional 55,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Scorpio Tankers in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,242,000. 54.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scorpio Tankers Company Profile

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.