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

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

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

Scorpio Tankers Stock Up 0.4%

STNG stock opened at $51.01 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $57.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 4.75 and a current ratio of 4.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63 and a beta of -0.30. Scorpio Tankers has a one year low of $30.63 and a one year high of $65.52.

Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $232.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $228.09 million. Scorpio Tankers had a return on equity of 7.42% and a net margin of 32.01%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Scorpio Tankers will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

Scorpio Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Scorpio Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. 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%. Scorpio Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is 28.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scorpio Tankers

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 110.3% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 469 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in Scorpio Tankers by 67.9% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 507 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in Scorpio Tankers by 77.1% in the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 758 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Scorpio Tankers by 143.8% during the 2nd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 780 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 206.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 854 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.64% of the company’s stock.

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.