BTIG Research Reaffirms Buy Rating for Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG)

Key Points

• BTIG Research reaffirmed its Buy rating on Scorpio Tankers and maintained a $110 price target, implying approximately 24.4% upside from the prior close.
• Scorpio Tankers reported quarterly earnings of $2.49 per share, beating estimates of $2.06, while revenue rose 10.4% year over year to $266.47 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus Hold rating and average price target of $92.57; meanwhile, company insiders sold 420,133 shares worth about $36.6 million during the past quarter.

Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by stock analysts at BTIG Research in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $110.00 price target on the shipping company's stock. BTIG Research's target price suggests a potential upside of 24.39% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on STNG. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a report on Monday, September 14th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $97.00 target price on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered Scorpio Tankers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Scorpio Tankers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.57.

Scorpio Tankers Price Performance

Shares of Scorpio Tankers stock traded up $3.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $88.43. 982,914 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,046,634. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 6.93 and a quick ratio of 6.89. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $82.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.25. Scorpio Tankers has a twelve month low of $48.93 and a twelve month high of $92.75. The company has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 5.52 and a beta of -0.17.

Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.43. Scorpio Tankers had a net margin of 67.16% and a return on equity of 16.43%. The business had revenue of $266.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $243.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Scorpio Tankers will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Robert L. Bugbee sold 231,799 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.19, for a total transaction of $19,978,755.81. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 665,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at $57,341,172.72. This trade represents a 25.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Cameron Mackey sold 125,000 shares of Scorpio Tankers stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.03, for a total value of $11,128,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 739,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,840,444.93. The trade was a 14.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 420,133 shares of company stock valued at $36,611,311 over the last quarter. 7.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Scorpio Tankers

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Scorpio Tankers in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Scorpio Tankers by 193.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 526 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Scorpio Tankers by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 579 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Scorpio Tankers during the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Scorpio Tankers during the 2nd quarter worth about $92,000. Institutional investors own 54.64% of the company's stock.

About Scorpio Tankers

Scorpio Tankers Inc is a marine transportation company that owns, operates and manages a fleet of product tankers. The company primarily transports refined petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and heating oil, as well as petrochemical feedstocks and other liquid products.

Its fleet has historically included medium-range, handymax and long-range product tankers, allowing Scorpio Tankers to serve both regional and long-haul trade routes. The company's vessels transport cargoes between major refining, storage and consumption centers across international markets, supporting energy companies, commodity traders and other commercial customers.

Scorpio Tankers was established in 2009 and is incorporated in the Marshall Islands, with corporate operations based in Monaco.

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