ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) Cut to Neutral at Bank of America

Bank of America downgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO - Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $19.00 price target on the transportation company's stock, down from their prior price target of $24.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on ZTO. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.56.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTO traded down $0.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $16.78. 1,462,632 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,783,277. The company has a market cap of $10.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of -0.14. ZTO Express has a 1 year low of $16.34 and a 1 year high of $27.50. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $18.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.23.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.73 billion. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 20.56%. On average, research analysts forecast that ZTO Express will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a yield of 4.7%. ZTO Express (Cayman)'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTO. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 106.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,288 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 70.8% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,132 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 443,600.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 4,437 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 4,436 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 2,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 47.0% during the 1st quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 10,101 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 3,229 shares during the last quarter. 41.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.