Short Interest in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE:ZIM) Decreases By 22.7%

Key Points

• Short interest in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. decreased by 22.7%, totaling 18.7 million shares as of August 15th, representing approximately 15.7% of the company's shares sold short.
• Recent analyst ratings show a predominance of negative outlooks, with an average rating of "Strong Sell" and a target price of $14.58.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed earnings per share of $0.19, significantly below the expected $1.50, with reported revenue of $1.64 billion against estimates of $1.84 billion.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE:ZIM - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 18,700,000 shares, a drop of 22.7% from the July 31st total of 24,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 15.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 15.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZIM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Barclays cut their price target on ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from $14.80 to $13.30 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Clarkson Capital downgraded ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $20.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and an average price target of $14.58.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Price Performance

ZIM traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $13.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,819,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,016,609. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $15.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services has a 12 month low of $11.03 and a 12 month high of $30.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 0.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.16 and a beta of 1.74.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (NYSE:ZIM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($1.31). ZIM Integrated Shipping Services had a net margin of 23.37% and a return on equity of 50.61%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that ZIM Integrated Shipping Services will post 16.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services's payout ratio is presently 1.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ZIM Integrated Shipping Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,720,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,879,000 after acquiring an additional 788,514 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 134.9% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,368,287 shares of the company's stock worth $70,286,000 after buying an additional 2,508,432 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 15.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,632,099 shares of the company's stock worth $42,350,000 after buying an additional 351,810 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 10.8% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,546,383 shares of the company's stock worth $24,881,000 after buying an additional 150,841 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 204.0% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 1,536,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030,817 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 21.42% of the company's stock.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Company Profile

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides container shipping and related services in Israel and internationally. It provides door-to-door and port-to-port transportation services for various types of customers, including end-users, consolidators, and freight forwarders.