Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $152.9091.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Zoetis from $158.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Zoetis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoetis

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 54.0% during the 2nd quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 3,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 54.3% during the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 67.0% during the second quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $750,000 after buying an additional 1,961 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Zoetis by 4.9% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 77,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,124,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 59.6% in the second quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 26,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,091,000 after acquiring an additional 9,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $121.95 on Friday. Zoetis has a 12 month low of $115.25 and a 12 month high of $177.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.58. The firm has a market cap of $53.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 28.21% and a return on equity of 57.19%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Zoetis will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.69%.

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.