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

Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $71.71 and last traded at $70.4960, with a volume of 80206 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on STNG shares. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America lowered Scorpio Tankers from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Scorpio Tankers from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.67.

Scorpio Tankers Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.13 and a beta of -0.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.89. The company has a quick ratio of 9.23, a current ratio of 9.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The shipping company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.25. Scorpio Tankers had a net margin of 36.70% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company had revenue of $252.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Scorpio Tankers Inc. will post 5.29 earnings per share 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. This is an increase from Scorpio Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Scorpio Tankers’s payout ratio is 23.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scorpio Tankers in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,890,000. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Scorpio Tankers in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,471,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew 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 worth $43,394,000 after purchasing an additional 492,584 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Scorpio Tankers by 68.3% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 806,049 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $45,179,000 after purchasing an additional 326,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 91.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 642,673 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,148,000 after purchasing an additional 307,815 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.