Wall Street Zen Upgrades ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) to “Buy”

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.36.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) stock opened at $24.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of -0.18. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.11. ZTO Express has a 52 week low of $16.34 and a 52 week high of $24.14.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($2.08). ZTO Express (Cayman) had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 18.61%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.90 EPS. ZTO Express (Cayman)’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that ZTO Express will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ZTO Express (Cayman)

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in ZTO Express (Cayman) during the fourth quarter valued at $266,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. DNB Asset Management AS raised its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 40,764 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 6,487 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 642,163 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,415,000 after acquiring an additional 29,425 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.65% of the company’s stock.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Company Profile

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc is one of China’s leading express delivery companies, specializing in both domestic and cross-border parcel logistics. The company operates a technology-enabled network that connects shippers, independent pickup and delivery stations, regional sorting hubs and end customers. ZTO’s service portfolio includes standard express, heavy-weight parcel delivery, time-definite shipments and e-commerce logistics solutions tailored for online retailers and marketplaces.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Shanghai, ZTO has grown rapidly by leveraging a franchise-style operating model that engages a broad network of independent contractors.