ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $24.70

Key Points

• Analysts give ZTO a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with four of six covering brokers rating it Hold, one Buy, and one Strong Buy. Their average 12-month price target is $24.70.
• Recent rating changes were mostly cautious: Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan downgraded the stock to Neutral and cut their price targets to $22, while other firms also moved ratings toward Hold.
• In its latest reported quarter, ZTO beat earnings expectations with EPS of $0.56 versus $0.50 forecast; revenue rose 23% year over year to $2.14 billion, slightly below estimates.

Shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.70.

ZTO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut ZTO Express (Cayman) from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Zacks Research cut ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ZTO Express (Cayman)

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point Nemo Capital LLC increased its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Point Nemo Capital LLC now owns 67,220 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,305,000 after acquiring an additional 8,051 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 31,758 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 4,502 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 58,895 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 1,097 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) during the third quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new position in ZTO Express (Cayman) during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $239,000. 41.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

Shares of ZTO stock opened at $20.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.89, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of -0.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm's 50 day moving average is $20.28 and its 200 day moving average is $22.82. ZTO Express has a 12 month low of $18.31 and a 12 month high of $26.20.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, August 15th. The transportation company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a net margin of 19.03% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ZTO Express will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

About ZTO Express (Cayman)

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc is a holding company that operates ZTO Express, one of China's major express delivery and logistics providers. The company provides parcel collection, sorting, line-haul transportation and last-mile delivery services, supporting shipments for consumers, merchants and businesses across China.

ZTO's business is closely connected to China's e-commerce economy, handling deliveries for online retailers and individual customers. Its operations include a nationwide network of sorting centers, transportation routes, service outlets and delivery personnel.

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