ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $23.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $25.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. HSBC lowered ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ZTO Express (Cayman) currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.78.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Down 0.4 %

ZTO Express (Cayman) stock opened at $20.06 on Thursday. ZTO Express has a 52 week low of $17.89 and a 52 week high of $27.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.96. The stock has a market cap of $12.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of -0.13.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.73 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that ZTO Express will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. ZTO Express (Cayman)’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ZTO Express (Cayman)

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 7,860,285 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $153,669,000 after acquiring an additional 820,686 shares during the last quarter. Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd. raised its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd. now owns 6,617,077 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $129,364,000 after purchasing an additional 633,604 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,484,318 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $86,307,000 after purchasing an additional 317,450 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. raised its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 8,172.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 3,003,008 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $74,385,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,395,333 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $46,829,000 after purchasing an additional 24,903 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.65% of the company’s stock.

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.