StockNews.com Upgrades ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday.

ZTO has been the subject of several other reports. HSBC downgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $28.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered ZTO Express (Cayman) from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy 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 $22.78.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Price Performance

NYSE ZTO opened at $19.84 on Wednesday. ZTO Express has a one year low of $17.89 and a one year high of $27.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of -0.13.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 18th. The transportation company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.02). ZTO Express (Cayman) had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 20.56%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.73 billion. Equities analysts expect that ZTO Express will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a yield of 4.7%. ZTO Express (Cayman)’s payout ratio is 45.95%.

Institutional Trading of ZTO Express (Cayman)

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,061 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 2,758 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 10,282 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 10,726 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. 41.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Company Profile

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc provides express delivery and other value-added logistics services in the People's Republic of China. It offers freight forwarding services; and delivery services for e-commerce and traditional merchants, and other express service users. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.