Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Price Target Cut to $225.00 by Analysts at HSBC

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at HSBC from $230.00 to $225.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. HSBC’s target price indicates a potential upside of 36.99% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on ZTS. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS traded down $4.20 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $164.25. 3,478,964 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,181,033. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.93. Zoetis has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.33. The company has a market cap of $74.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.86.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.34% and a net margin of 27.38%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis will post 5.77 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zoetis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 7.3% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 58,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,960,000 after acquiring an additional 3,998 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 10,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 151,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,600,000 after buying an additional 2,623 shares during the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund grew its stake in Zoetis by 27.0% in the first quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 229,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,827,000 after acquiring an additional 48,823 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Capital Co increased its holdings in Zoetis by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 22,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.