Icon Advisers Inc. Co. Grows Stock Position in ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO)

Icon Advisers Inc. Co. lifted its holdings in ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) by 53.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 345,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 120,000 shares during the quarter. ZTO Express (Cayman) accounts for approximately 1.5% of Icon Advisers Inc. Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. owned 0.06% of ZTO Express (Cayman) worth $6,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ZTO. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 333,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,520,000 after buying an additional 107,800 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,035 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD bought a new stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,948,000. WFM ASIA BVI Ltd bought a new position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,364,000. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. raised its stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 14,509 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 3,783 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.65% of the company’s stock.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTO opened at $18.26 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.56. The firm has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of -0.03. ZTO Express has a one year low of $16.34 and a one year high of $27.50.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 18th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.73 billion. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 20.56%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ZTO Express will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a yield of 4.7%. ZTO Express (Cayman)’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ZTO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered ZTO Express (Cayman) from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $20.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ZTO Express (Cayman) presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.78.

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.