Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Zoetis has a consensus analyst rating of Hold from 15 analysts, with 8 holds, 6 buys, and 1 sell; the average 12-month price target is about $133.92.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, posting EPS of $1.53 versus $1.60 expected and revenue of $2.26 billion versus $2.30 billion expected, even though revenue still rose 2.9% year over year.
• Zoetis recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 2.8%, while insiders also bought shares and institutional investors continue to own the vast majority of the stock.

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $133.9167.

ZTS has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Zoetis from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a report on Friday, May 15th.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Frank A. Damelio purchased 6,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $501,343.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 21,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,617,718.62. This represents a 44.91% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul Bisaro acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $75.88 per share, with a total value of $151,760.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,114,168.56. This represents a 7.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership grew its holdings in Zoetis by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 2,402 shares of the company's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 2.4% in the third quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,672 shares of the company's stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 1,904 shares of the company's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 4.4% in the third quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 2,043 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $75.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $31.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.75. Zoetis has a 1-year low of $72.38 and a 1-year high of $161.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $92.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.10.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.07). Zoetis had a return on equity of 66.85% and a net margin of 27.80%.The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.16%.

About Zoetis

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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