ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) Stock Price Up 4.9% - Should You Buy?

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 4.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $17.64 and last traded at $17.59. 1,239,391 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 2,784,749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America downgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. HSBC upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on ZTO Express (Cayman) from $26.40 to $22.60 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.56.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.61 and a 200-day moving average of $19.21. The firm has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of -0.14.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 18th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.02). ZTO Express (Cayman) had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 20.56%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.73 billion. Equities research analysts expect that ZTO Express will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. ZTO Express (Cayman)'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.04%.

Institutional Trading of ZTO Express (Cayman)

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ZTO. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) during the 4th quarter worth approximately $316,000. XY Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 208.9% in the 4th quarter. XY Capital Ltd now owns 396,873 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $7,759,000 after purchasing an additional 268,387 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,061 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC bought a new stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,395,333 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $46,829,000 after buying an additional 24,903 shares during the last quarter. 41.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ZTO Express (Cayman)

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc provides express delivery and other value-added logistics services in the People's Republic of China. It offers freight forwarding services; and delivery services for e-commerce and traditional merchants, and other express service users. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.

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