ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,420,000 shares, an increase of 31.6% from the September 15th total of 13,240,000 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ZTO Express (Cayman)

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ZTO. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 72.2% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 164,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,534,000 after buying an additional 69,039 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 121.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 105,291 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,205,000 after buying an additional 57,800 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 119.9% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,848,182 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,641,000 after buying an additional 1,552,885 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 25.0% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 525,329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,007,000 after buying an additional 105,100 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 20.9% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 564,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,822,000 after acquiring an additional 97,600 shares during the last quarter. 41.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ZTO. Bank of America lifted their price target on ZTO Express (Cayman) from $25.20 to $26.90 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Macquarie lowered ZTO Express (Cayman) from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $21.20 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ZTO Express (Cayman) currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.03.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTO traded down $1.16 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.77. The stock had a trading volume of 3,536,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,568,498. ZTO Express has a 12-month low of $15.90 and a 12-month high of $27.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of -0.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.65.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The transportation company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a net margin of 21.22% and a return on equity of 15.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that ZTO Express will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.6%. ZTO Express (Cayman)’s payout ratio is 47.89%.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Company Profile

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.