Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Short Interest Up 20.5% in January

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,580,000 shares, an increase of 20.5% from the January 15th total of 7,120,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,620,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS traded down $7.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $157.54. 7,656,606 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,578,743. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. Zoetis has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $168.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.81.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Zoetis will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Barclays increased their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth $824,321,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth about $196,651,000. Finally, Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.