Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Grows Stock Position in ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO - Free Report) by 46.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 826,850 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 262,280 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.14% of ZTO Express (Cayman) worth $16,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,061 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 2,758 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 10,282 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich grew its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 11,518 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $232,000. 41.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ZTO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Hsbc Global Res raised ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, HSBC upgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.28.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTO opened at $18.78 on Tuesday. ZTO Express has a 1 year low of $16.34 and a 1 year high of $27.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of -0.03.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 18th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.02). ZTO Express (Cayman) had a net margin of 20.56% and a return on equity of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.73 billion. Analysts predict that ZTO Express will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Announces Dividend

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

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.

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