ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) Cut to “Neutral” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $23.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $25.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC cut shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.78.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Down 7.3 %

Shares of ZTO stock opened at $20.17 on Thursday. ZTO Express has a 12-month low of $17.89 and a 12-month high of $27.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of -0.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.51 and a 200-day moving average of $20.98.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 18th. The transportation company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.73 billion. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a net margin of 20.56% and a return on equity of 15.44%. Research analysts expect that ZTO Express will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a yield of 4.7%. ZTO Express (Cayman)’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ZTO Express (Cayman)

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 209,907 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,104,000 after purchasing an additional 19,329 shares during the period. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the 4th quarter valued at about $246,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,802,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 18,444 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 3,133 shares during the period. Finally, OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the 4th quarter valued at about $231,000. 41.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.