On Friday, traders acquired 2,012 put options on Scorpio Tankers, representing a 41% jump from the firm’s average daily put volume of 1,428. This surge in bearish positioning suggests growing investor concern over near-term freight rate softness in the product tanker market. Open interest on puts at expiration is now at a six-month high, indicating that downside protection is being actively sought ahead of upcoming earnings and market developments.

In its latest quarter, Scorpio Tankers reported earnings per share of 1.49, beating analyst consensus by 0.10, on revenue of 232.92 million, exceeding expectations by 4.83 million. Net margin improved to 32.01% while return on equity stood at 7.42%. Revenue declined 9.9% year-over-year, reflecting weaker spot rates compared with the prior period. Sell-side forecasts project full-year EPS of 5.29, which would mark a modest increase over last year’s annual result despite volatility in charter rates.

Scorpio Tankers raised its quarterly dividend by 5%, issuing 0.42 per share, for an annualized payout of 1.68 and a payout ratio of 28.43%. Institutional ownership remains elevated at 54.6%, with Encompass Capital Advisors and Merewether Investment Management initiating positions valued at 30.9 million and 38.5 million respectively. Assenagon Asset Management boosted its stake by 136.4%, acquiring an additional 492,584 shares, while Arrowstreet and AQR each added over 300,000 shares. Concurrently, BofA Securities downgraded the stock from Buy to Underperform, citing a reduction in its applied EBITDA multiple to 5.0x from 6.0x and concerns that current tanker rates are nearing cyclical peaks.