ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (ZTO) to Issue Dividend of $0.39 on April 29th

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) announced a dividend on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 8th will be given a dividend of 0.39 per share by the transportation company on Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a dividend yield of 305.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 8th.

ZTO Express (Cayman) has raised its dividend by an average of 0.3%per year over the last three years. ZTO Express (Cayman) has a payout ratio of 31.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect ZTO Express (Cayman) to earn $1.71 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.58 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.9%.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTO opened at $25.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 4.30 and a beta of -0.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.98. ZTO Express has a 52-week low of $16.34 and a 52-week high of $26.20.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 17th. The transportation company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. ZTO Express (Cayman) had a return on equity of 14.30% and a net margin of 18.50%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that ZTO Express will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in a report on Monday, December 29th. Macquarie Infrastructure upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ZTO Express (Cayman) has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.36.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Company Profile

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc is one of China’s leading express delivery companies, specializing in both domestic and cross-border parcel logistics. The company operates a technology-enabled network that connects shippers, independent pickup and delivery stations, regional sorting hubs and end customers. ZTO’s service portfolio includes standard express, heavy-weight parcel delivery, time-definite shipments and e-commerce logistics solutions tailored for online retailers and marketplaces.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Shanghai, ZTO has grown rapidly by leveraging a franchise-style operating model that engages a broad network of independent contractors.