ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) Upgraded to "Buy" at StockNews.com

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

ZTO has been the topic of several other research reports. Hsbc Global Res cut ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut ZTO Express (Cayman) from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $28.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.78.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

ZTO traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.84. 1,687,372 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,033,346. ZTO Express has a 1 year low of $17.89 and a 1 year high of $27.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of -0.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.90.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.73 billion. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 20.56%. Sell-side analysts expect that ZTO Express will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of ZTO Express (Cayman)

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in ZTO Express (Cayman) during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,061 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 14.8% during 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. Finally, Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,255 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.65% of the company's stock.

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.