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

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) was upgraded by analysts at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $22.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock. HSBC’s target price suggests a potential upside of 17.11% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on ZTO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.28.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ZTO opened at $18.79 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G 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 results 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 firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.73 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that ZTO Express will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ZTO Express (Cayman)

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTO. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 106.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,288 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,061 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 10,282 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Finally, Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich increased its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 11,518 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the last quarter. 41.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.