ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $17.81 and last traded at $18.06, with a volume of 1163631 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ZTO. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. HSBC cut ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered ZTO Express (Cayman) from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $25.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.78.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of -0.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.73 and its 200 day moving average is $20.80.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 18th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.02). ZTO Express (Cayman) had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 20.56%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.73 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that ZTO Express will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. ZTO Express (Cayman)’s payout ratio is currently 45.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 3.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,913 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 64,943 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. raised its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 14,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.65% of the company’s stock.

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.