ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) Trading Up 2.9% – What’s Next?

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) shares were up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $18.76 and last traded at $18.70. Approximately 512,832 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 3,006,439 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTO has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC lowered shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $20.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.78.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Up 8.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of -0.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $19.62 and its 200-day moving average is $20.69.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 18th. The transportation company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.73 billion. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a net margin of 20.56% and a return on equity of 15.44%. On average, analysts predict that ZTO Express will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal 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. 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 currently 45.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 112.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 187,114 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,635,000 after acquiring an additional 98,877 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 10,282 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 2,787.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 295,725 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,781,000 after buying an additional 285,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,721,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.65% of the company’s stock.

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.