Scorpio Tankers Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:STNG)

Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 3,066 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 68% compared to the average volume of 1,826 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Scorpio Tankers from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Scorpio Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Scorpio Tankers currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Scorpio Tankers Price Performance

NYSE:STNG traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.05. 899,583 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,008,169. The company has a current ratio of 4.81, a quick ratio of 4.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $58.98 and its 200-day moving average is $50.11. The firm has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 9.85 and a beta of -0.07. Scorpio Tankers has a twelve month low of $30.63 and a twelve month high of $65.52.

Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.10. Scorpio Tankers had a net margin of 32.01% and a return on equity of 7.42%. The firm had revenue of $232.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $228.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This is an increase from Scorpio Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Scorpio Tankers’s payout ratio is 28.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scorpio Tankers

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of STNG. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scorpio Tankers in the second quarter worth about $30,890,000. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Scorpio Tankers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,471,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 68.3% during the 3rd 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. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 91.9% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 598.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 357,120 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,974,000 after purchasing an additional 305,978 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, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the seaborne transportation of crude oi and refined petroleum products in the shipping markets worldwide. As of March 21, 2024, its fleet consisted of 110 owned and leases financed tanker, including 39 LR2, 57 MR, and 14 Handymax with a weighted average age of approximately 8.1 years.