Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) Short Interest Down 31.1% in February

Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 1,281,388 shares, a decrease of 31.1% from the February 12th total of 1,858,875 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 992,925 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 992,925 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STNG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a report on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Scorpio Tankers from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Scorpio Tankers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research note on Monday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.67.

Scorpio Tankers Price Performance

Shares of STNG traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,675,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,978. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39 and a beta of -0.31. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.88. Scorpio Tankers has a 1-year low of $30.63 and a 1-year high of $81.85.

Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The shipping company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $252.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.93 million. Scorpio Tankers had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 36.70%.Scorpio Tankers’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. Analysts expect that Scorpio Tankers will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

Scorpio Tankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. 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. Scorpio Tankers’s payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scorpio Tankers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,005,276 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $152,757,000 after acquiring an additional 60,401 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 7.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,913,729 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $107,265,000 after purchasing an additional 135,123 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 7.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,249,834 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $70,053,000 after buying an additional 83,294 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,223,015 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $62,166,000 after acquiring an additional 137,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Scorpio Tankers by 136.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 853,712 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $43,394,000 after acquiring an additional 492,584 shares during the last quarter. 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.