ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ZTO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on ZTO Express (Cayman) from $37.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America upgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com lowered ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, HSBC reduced their target price on ZTO Express (Cayman) from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ZTO Express (Cayman)

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in ZTO Express (Cayman) in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,248 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,278 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 34.3% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,562 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 1,333.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,973 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 4,626 shares during the last quarter. 41.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTO opened at $19.94 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.84. ZTO Express has a 52-week low of $15.90 and a 52-week high of $30.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of -0.04.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 19th. The transportation company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts forecast that ZTO Express will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. ZTO Express (Cayman)’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.22%.

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.