ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) Upgraded to “Buy” at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. HSBC currently has $22.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Hsbc Global Res lowered ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered ZTO Express (Cayman) from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $25.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.28.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTO opened at $18.88 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.52. The firm has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of -0.03. ZTO Express has a 1 year low of $16.34 and a 1 year high of $27.50.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 18th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.73 billion. On average, research analysts predict that ZTO Express will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of ZTO Express (Cayman)

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTO. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 8.5% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 36,952 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 2,888 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 10,282 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 2,787.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 295,725 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,781,000 after purchasing an additional 285,484 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,061 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 2,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XY Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 208.9% during the fourth quarter. XY Capital Ltd now owns 396,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,759,000 after acquiring an additional 268,387 shares during the period. 41.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ZTO Express (Cayman)

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.