ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) Short Interest Up 31.6% in September

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of 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 shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.2 days.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Price Performance

Shares of ZTO stock traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.77. 3,536,734 shares of the company were exchanged, 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 market cap of $15.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of -0.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $22.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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

ZTO Express (Cayman) Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ZTO. Macquarie downgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $21.20 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from $25.20 to $26.90 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.03.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 22.0% in the first quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 17,428,610 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $364,955,000 after purchasing an additional 3,140,733 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,038,533 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $168,327,000 after purchasing an additional 199,464 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,960,272 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $123,676,000 after purchasing an additional 70,527 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 119.9% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,848,182 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $59,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 2.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,714,763 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,594,000 after buying an additional 40,449 shares during the last quarter. 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.