ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $23.55, but opened at $22.67. ZTO Express (Cayman) shares last traded at $22.9490, with a volume of 369,655 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ZTO. Macquarie Infrastructure upgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on ZTO Express (Cayman) from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $30.10 target price on shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ZTO Express (Cayman) has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.93.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.73 and a 200-day moving average of $22.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of -0.18.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The transportation company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 18.50%.The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that ZTO Express will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 318.0%. ZTO Express (Cayman)’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.10%.

Institutional Trading of ZTO Express (Cayman)

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,693 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 15,943 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 42.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,341 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 61.4% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,617 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.65% of the company’s stock.

About ZTO Express (Cayman)

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.