Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Rating Raised to “Hold” at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Zoetis from $104.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $85.00 price objective on Zoetis in a report on Friday, August 7th. HSBC reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $140.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Zoetis from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.14.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $79.31. 5,570,530 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,418,894. The stock has a market cap of $32.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 3.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.49. Zoetis has a 12 month low of $68.77 and a 12 month high of $148.30.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.49% and a return on equity of 74.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.250 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 34.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Flossbach Von Storch SE bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the second quarter worth $302,601,000. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Zoetis by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 39,430,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,833,453,000 after purchasing an additional 3,845,869 shares during the last quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. bought a new position in Zoetis during the 1st quarter worth $286,660,000. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP raised its position in Zoetis by 340.0% during the 1st quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 2,200,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carmignac Gestion acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 2nd quarter worth about $113,230,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc is a global animal health company that develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and other products for pets and livestock. Its portfolio is designed to help prevent and treat disease, improve animal health and support veterinary care.

The company serves the companion animal market with products for dogs, cats and other pets, including parasiticides, vaccines, dermatology treatments and pain-management therapies. Zoetis also provides animal health products for cattle, swine, poultry, fish and other livestock, along with diagnostic instruments, tests and services used by veterinarians and producers.

Zoetis was established as an independent public company in 2013 after being separated from Pfizer, which had operated the business as Pfizer Animal Health.