Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Zoetis hit a new 52-week low of $71.45 after UBS lowered its price target from $85 to $80 and maintained a neutral rating. The stock closed at $71.87, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans toward “Hold”: seven analysts rate Zoetis a Buy, nine a Hold and one a Sell, with an average price target of $115.50.
• Zoetis modestly exceeded quarterly EPS estimates at $1.87 versus $1.85, though revenue of $2.47 billion fell short of forecasts and declined slightly year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, representing a 2.9% yield.

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Monday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $80.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Zoetis traded as low as $71.45 and last traded at $71.8680, with a volume of 1784145 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $72.66.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on ZTS. Wall Street Zen lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Zoetis from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $140.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $115.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul Bisaro bought 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $75.88 per share, for a total transaction of $151,760.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 27,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,114,168.56. This trade represents a 7.73% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Frank A. Damelio bought 6,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $501,343.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,617,718.62. This represents a 44.91% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoetis

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 180.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 6.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,293 shares of the company's stock worth $1,859,000 after buying an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,347 shares of the company's stock worth $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co lifted its stake in Zoetis by 11.8% during the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 4,780 shares of the company's stock valued at $745,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $76.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.58. The company has a market capitalization of $30.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 3.08 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.49% and a return on equity of 74.89%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.93%.

Zoetis Company Profile

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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