ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE:ZIM) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE:ZIM – Get Rating) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,730,000 shares, a growth of 51.2% from the March 31st total of 3,790,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,080,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 8.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services stock opened at $55.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.54. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services has a 12-month low of $33.30 and a 12-month high of $91.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.89.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (NYSE:ZIM – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 9th. The company reported $14.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $13.65 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $3.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.44 billion. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services had a net margin of 43.25% and a return on equity of 201.14%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ZIM Integrated Shipping Services will post 36.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 23rd were paid a $17.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 22nd. This represents a $68.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 122.24%. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.21%.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ZIM. Morgan Stanley bought a new stake in shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services in the first quarter worth approximately $220,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 20.1% in the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 37,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 6,299 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 277.0% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 35,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 26,156 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services in the third quarter worth approximately $314,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 146.9% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 293,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,884,000 after buying an additional 174,661 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.33% of the company’s stock.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from $60.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 10th. Clarkson Capital downgraded shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 10th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.40.

About ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (Get Rating)

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides container shipping and related services in Israel and internationally. It provides door-to-door and port-to-port transportation services for various types of customers, including end-users, consolidators, and freight forwarders.

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