Scorpio Tankers Raises Quarterly Dividend 66.7% to $0.75

Scorpio Tankers Inc. raised its quarterly cash dividend to $0.75 per share from $0.45, an increase of 66.7%. STNG shares trade ex-dividend on November 13, 2026, and the payment is due December 4, 2026.

Why the dividend changed

Management tied the larger payout to Scorpio Tankers’ strengthened balance sheet and its ability to return capital through different shipping cycles. Chief Executive Emanuele Lauro said the decision reflected the “strength of our balance sheet” and confidence in the company’s capacity to return capital through the cycle. He described debt reduction, a sustainable dividend and opportunistic share repurchases as the company’s capital-allocation priorities. Scorpio Tankers’ third-quarter earnings call

The increase followed a strong operating quarter. Scorpio Tankers reported third-quarter net income of $224.3 million and adjusted net income of $127.4 million. Time-charter-equivalent revenue rose to $249.1 million from $232.9 million even though the average fleet declined to 75.1 vessels from 99.0. The company attributed the improvement to a substantially stronger product-tanker market, including longer refined-product voyages, fleet dislocation and firm demand. Scorpio Tankers’ third-quarter results

The balance-sheet improvement also coincided with extensive fleet reshaping. Scorpio completed several tanker sales during the quarter, agreed to sell three more product tankers and committed to additional LR2 and very large crude-carrier newbuildings. Those moves released capital from older ships while creating future spending requirements. The dividend increase was not related to a split, merger or spin-off. It was an increase in the regular quarterly cash distribution.

Scorpio’s board retains discretion over each declaration. The company says the amount and timing depend on earnings, financial condition, cash requirements, fleet investment, financing restrictions and applicable law. That policy makes the dividend responsive to the volatile tanker market rather than contractually fixed.

Dividend track record

The latest increase extends a stepwise recovery in the payout, but not an uninterrupted growth record. The three most recent distributions before this declaration were each $0.45, with ex-dividend dates of March 6, May 29 and August 17, 2026. The preceding five listed payments were $0.40 each.

Annual payments held at $0.40 in 2020, 2021 and 2022. They then rose 162.5% to $1.05 in 2023 and another 52.4% to $1.60 in 2024. The 2025 series records 3 payments totaling $1.20, down 25.0% from the prior year. The formal consecutive-year dividend-growth streak therefore remains 0 years, and the last annual cut occurred in 2017.

The pattern is one of larger payouts following periods of stronger tanker earnings, not smooth annual compounding. Even so, the dividend’s five-year growth rate is 32.0% annual growth. At the new quarterly rate, the annualized dividend is $3.00 per share, or $300.00 of annual income for every 100 shares.

Is the dividend covered?

The dividend consumes 11% of earnings. That low payout ratio leaves a substantial earnings cushion between current profit and the regular distribution, although tanker earnings can change sharply with freight rates and vessel utilization.

SmarterDividends rates the dividend B, with a safety score of 76. That falls in the safe range of 66-79. In plain terms, current earnings coverage and financial capacity support the payment, while the cyclical business and uneven historical record keep the assessment below the highest safety tier.

Yield and valuation

At a share price of $95.07, the new annual dividend produces a forward yield of 3.38%. That remains below the Energy sector median forward yield of 3.94%, despite the 66.7% increase in the quarterly rate.

SmarterDividends estimates fair value at $170.43 and classifies the shares as undervalued, with 98% upside to fair value. The stock has recorded a 49.9% gain over the past year. These valuation measures are separate from dividend coverage and do not remove the freight-rate sensitivity embedded in Scorpio’s earnings.

What to watch

The immediate calendar items are the November 13, 2026, ex-dividend date and the December 4, 2026, payment date. Subsequent quarterly results will show whether product-tanker rates and cash generation continue to support the enlarged regular payout.

Operating attention will center on fourth-quarter bookings across the LR2, MR and Handymax fleets. Management reported strong early-quarter booking conditions and linked the market to increased Middle East crude flows, higher refinery activity, refined-product exports and constrained vessel supply. Third-quarter earnings-call transcript

Investors will also have two sides of the fleet program to monitor. Scorpio expected the sales of STI Veneto and STI Elysees to close before the end of 2026, while its newbuilding commitments include product tankers and crude carriers scheduled for later delivery. The resulting balance between sale proceeds, newbuilding expenditures, debt management and shareholder distributions will be central to future dividend decisions. Scorpio Tankers’ third-quarter results