ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO – Get Rating) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $28.00, but opened at $28.58. ZTO Express (Cayman) shares last traded at $28.60, with a volume of 657,875 shares trading hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from ZTO Express (Cayman)’s previous — dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 5th.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ZTO shares. TheStreet raised shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, December 29th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from $40.30 to $32.80 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 23rd. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.60.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a PE ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.02.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 15th. The transportation company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.01 billion. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a return on equity of 13.56% and a net margin of 19.09%. ZTO Express (Cayman)’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ZTO Express will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of ZTO Express (Cayman)

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 420.1% during the fourth quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,165 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 40.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ZTO Express (Cayman)

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ZTO Express (Cayman), Inc provides comprehensive logistics services. It offers express delivery and value-added logistics services through a nationwide network partner. The firm also provides digital and privacy waybill and cloud printing. The company was founded by Mei Song Lai on May 8, 2002 and is headquartered in Shanghai, China.