ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• ZTO Express has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from five analysts, with three holds, one buy and one strong buy; the average 12-month price target is $26.05.
• Analyst sentiment has recently weakened, with JPMorgan cutting its rating to neutral and reducing its target to $22, while Zacks Research and Weiss Ratings also downgraded the stock.
• ZTO reported quarterly EPS of $0.56, beating estimates of $0.50, while revenue rose 23% year over year to $2.14 billion, slightly below expectations.

Shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.05.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $30.10 price objective on shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $29.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) stock opened at $20.89 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. ZTO Express has a 12 month low of $18.11 and a 12 month high of $26.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.43. The stock has a market cap of $11.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of -0.24.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, August 15th. The transportation company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 19.03%.The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. ZTO Express (Cayman)'s revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that ZTO Express will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ZTO Express (Cayman)

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in ZTO Express (Cayman) during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 2,225.2% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,604 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 3,449 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in ZTO Express (Cayman) in the 2nd quarter valued at $129,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 58.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,276 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,946 shares in the last quarter. 41.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Company Profile

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc is a China-based express delivery and logistics company. Through its operating network, the company provides parcel collection, sorting, transportation and delivery services for e-commerce merchants, businesses and individual customers.

ZTO's services primarily cover domestic express delivery in China and are supported by distribution hubs, sorting facilities, transportation routes, delivery outlets and third-party network partners. The company also offers logistics-related services, including freight forwarding and other supply-chain solutions, while serving the needs of China's growing online retail market.

Founded in 2002, ZTO has expanded its operations alongside the development of China's e-commerce sector.

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