Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) Short Interest Update

Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,810,143 shares, a drop of 19.0% from the January 15th total of 2,233,782 shares. Currently, 3.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 801,599 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 801,599 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 3.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Scorpio Tankers Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:STNG traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $70.10. 1,094,987 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 928,864. Scorpio Tankers has a fifty-two week low of $30.63 and a fifty-two week high of $71.48. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 9.92 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.52.

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

Scorpio Tankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. 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 2.6%. Scorpio Tankers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on STNG shares. BTIG Research increased their price target on Scorpio Tankers from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a report on Friday. Zacks Research cut shares of Scorpio Tankers from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.67.

Institutional Trading of Scorpio Tankers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of STNG. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Scorpio Tankers during the second quarter worth $30,890,000. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Scorpio Tankers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,471,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 136.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 853,712 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $43,394,000 after purchasing an additional 492,584 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 68.3% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 806,049 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $45,179,000 after purchasing an additional 326,973 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 307,815 shares in the last quarter. 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.