Citigroup Upgrades Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Citigroup upgraded Zoetis to a strong-buy, though the Street remains mixed (1 Strong Buy, 6 Buy, 7 Hold, 1 Sell) with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $152.25.
• Zoetis beat quarterly expectations (EPS $1.48 vs. $1.40; revenue $2.39B vs. $2.36B) and issued FY 2026 guidance of 7.00–7.10 EPS, above the current analyst average forecast of 6.07 EPS.
• The stock trades around $119.15 with a market cap of ~$50.1B and a P/E of ~19.8; institutional ownership is high (92.8%) with several large recent stake increases by firms like J. Stern, Norges Bank and Vanguard.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Citigroup to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

ZTS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Leerink Partners reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $136.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $152.25.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $119.15 on Wednesday. Zoetis has a twelve month low of $113.29 and a twelve month high of $172.23. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.98.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 62.02% and a net margin of 28.24%.The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.000-7.100 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Zoetis will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 12,431.2% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 24,069,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,028,423,000 after acquiring an additional 23,877,416 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $734,425,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,780,974 shares of the company's stock worth $6,011,802,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,210 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $394,010,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 79.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,932,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179,578 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Company Profile

Zoetis Inc NYSE: ZTS is a global animal health company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products and services for companion animals and livestock. The company's offerings include pharmaceuticals, vaccines and biologics, parasiticides and anti-infectives, as well as diagnostic instruments, consumables and laboratory testing services. Zoetis serves the veterinary community, livestock producers and other animal-health customers with products designed to prevent, detect and treat disease and to support animal productivity and welfare.

Zoetis traces its roots to the animal health business of Pfizer and became an independent, publicly traded company following a 2013 separation and initial public offering.

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