Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Zoetis Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a 1-year target price averaging $204.63.
• The company reported $1.48 EPS for its most recent quarter, surpassing estimates and reflecting a 1.4% revenue growth year-over-year.
• Zoetis announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.4%.

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $204.63.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partners lowered Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $147.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Zoetis has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $158.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.46.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Zoetis's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Zoetis will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in Zoetis during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 79.3% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Company Profile

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.

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