Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 537,495 Shares of Scorpio Tankers Inc. $STNG

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) by 20.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,130,933 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 537,495 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Scorpio Tankers were worth $119,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scorpio Tankers in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,890,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Scorpio Tankers by 91.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 642,673 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,148,000 after acquiring an additional 307,815 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Scorpio Tankers in the second quarter worth about $10,845,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,778,606 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $69,597,000 after purchasing an additional 153,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 58.2% in the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 253,933 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,936,000 after purchasing an additional 93,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.64% of the company’s stock.

Scorpio Tankers Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Scorpio Tankers stock opened at $80.23 on Thursday. Scorpio Tankers Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.63 and a 12-month high of $81.85. The company has a quick ratio of 9.23, a current ratio of 9.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $63.07 and its 200-day moving average is $58.69. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35 and a beta of -0.31.

Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The shipping company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $252.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.93 million. Scorpio Tankers had a net margin of 36.70% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Scorpio Tankers Inc. will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scorpio Tankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Scorpio Tankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Scorpio Tankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on STNG shares. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Scorpio Tankers from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised Scorpio Tankers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.67.

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.