Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a report on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $136.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $151.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $114.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $48.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.03. Zoetis has a fifty-two week low of $112.97 and a fifty-two week high of $172.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.67.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 28.24% and a return on equity of 62.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.000-7.100 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Zoetis will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoetis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.4% in the third quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,834,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 1.1% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 7,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC boosted 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 boosted 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. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 3.3% in the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

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.