Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research lowered shares of Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on STNG. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Scorpio Tankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $82.00 price target on Scorpio Tankers and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Scorpio Tankers from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Scorpio Tankers from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scorpio Tankers currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.14.

Scorpio Tankers Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of Scorpio Tankers stock opened at $77.63 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.04. The company has a current ratio of 13.98, a quick ratio of 13.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.85 and a beta of -0.24. Scorpio Tankers has a 1 year low of $43.78 and a 1 year high of $87.39.

Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The shipping company reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.56 by $0.12. Scorpio Tankers had a net margin of 67.16% and a return on equity of 16.95%. The firm had revenue of $408.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $398.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 77.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Scorpio Tankers will post 11 EPS for the current year.

Scorpio Tankers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Scorpio Tankers’s payout ratio is presently 17.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scorpio Tankers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STNG. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,286 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 1,418 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Scorpio Tankers by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,124 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Scorpio Tankers by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,257 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $572,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Scorpio Tankers by 193.9% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 526 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.64% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Scorpio Tankers

Here are the key news stories impacting Scorpio Tankers this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings and revenue topped expectations. Q2 adjusted diluted EPS was $4.68, above the $4.51 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $408.7 million versus expectations of $398.3 million. Adjusted net income rose to $243.7 million from $67.8 million a year earlier. Scorpio Tankers Beats Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Operating performance improved sharply. Average daily time-charter-equivalent revenue more than doubled to $52,661 from $25,569, lifting adjusted EBITDA to $300.5 million from $144.5 million. Management attributed the stronger market to longer voyages and trade disruptions related to the Middle East conflict. Scorpio Tankers Q2 Results and Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Liquidity and capital returns remain attractive. Scorpio Tankers reported approximately $2.0 billion in unrestricted cash, reduced gross debt through vessel sales and repayments, repurchased shares, and declared a $0.45 quarterly dividend payable August 31 to shareholders of record August 17.
• Positive Sentiment: Forward revenue visibility is improving. The company secured three-year time charters for three MR tankers at $23,900-$25,000 per day and continues investing in scrubber-fitted LR2, MR and VLCC newbuildings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported net income was boosted by nonrecurring items. Q2 net income of $387.5 million included a $154.1 million vessel-sale gain and a $13.8 million fair-value gain, making adjusted results more relevant for assessing recurring profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Market and dilution risks remain. Spot rates declined from record highs late in the quarter, while the $605 million convertible-note issuance may dilute shareholders if converted. Higher general and administrative and vessel operating costs also offset part of the benefit from stronger freight rates.

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.