Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $215.22.

Several analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS opened at $164.70 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.11. Zoetis has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.53. The company has a market cap of $74.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.96, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 17,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,953,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the second quarter valued at $243,000. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 2nd quarter valued at $334,000. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $961,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.