Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (NYSE:ZIM)

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE:ZIM) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 7,332 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 43% compared to the average daily volume of 5,115 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ZIM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from $9.00 to $16.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from $14.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research upgraded ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.33.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Price Performance

Shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services stock traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.80. 1,323,166 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,241,752. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.59. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.32 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services has a 1 year low of $12.33 and a 1 year high of $29.97.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (NYSE:ZIM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported ($0.72) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.50). The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services had a negative return on equity of 0.26% and a net margin of 1.56%. As a group, research analysts predict that ZIM Integrated Shipping Services will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at ZIM Integrated Shipping Services

In other news, EVP Saar Dotan sold 20,000 shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.63, for a total value of $492,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 131,667 shares in the company, valued at $3,242,958.21. This trade represents a 13.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 61,000 shares of company stock worth $1,537,310 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZIM. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 20.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,720,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,879,000 after purchasing an additional 788,514 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services during the fourth quarter worth about $89,845,000. Meitav Investment House Ltd. raised its stake in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 13.7% during the first quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 3,906,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,934,000 after purchasing an additional 472,092 shares during the period. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. now owns 3,308,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,028,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,936,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,371,000 after buying an additional 58,603 shares during the period. 21.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ZIM Integrated Shipping Services

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE: ZIM) is a global container shipping company specializing in the transportation of dry cargo, refrigerated goods and special project cargo. The company operates a modern fleet of container vessels that call at major ports worldwide, offering scheduled liner services and tailored logistics solutions to exporters, importers and freight forwarders.

Founded in 1945 in Haifa, Israel, ZIM has grown from a regional carrier into a worldwide operator through a series of strategic partnerships, fleet expansions and network enhancements.