Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Short Interest Up 413,057.9% in July

Key Points

• Short interest for Zoetis Inc. surged by 413,057.9% in July, reaching a total of 7,850,000 shares, indicating a significant increase from just 1,900 shares at the end of June.
• The company's quarterly earnings report revealed earnings per share (EPS) of $1.48, surpassing analyst expectations, and a revenue of $2.22 billion, which also exceeded estimates.
• Zoetis announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.4%, set to be paid on September 3rd to shareholders on record from July 18th.

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,850,000 shares, agrowthof413,057.9% from the June 30th total of 1,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,030,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently,1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently,1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,030,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Zoetis stock traded up $1.18 on Friday, reaching $146.97. 1,588,837 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,050,537. Zoetis has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $65.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $158.82 and a 200 day moving average of $160.58.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partners lowered Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,556,164 shares of the company's stock worth $6,842,222,000 after buying an additional 189,287 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 17.6% in the first quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,796,847 shares of the company's stock worth $1,448,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313,653 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Zoetis by 1.2% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,504,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,071,032,000 after buying an additional 78,508 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,146,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $847,293,000 after acquiring an additional 109,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unisphere Establishment raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,800,000 shares of the company's stock worth $782,064,000 after purchasing an additional 325,000 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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