Contrasting ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) and Its Peers

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) is one of 45 public companies in the “TRANS – SERVICES” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare ZTO Express (Cayman) to related businesses based on the strength of its risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and valuation.

Dividends

ZTO Express (Cayman) pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. ZTO Express (Cayman) pays out 43.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “TRANS – SERVICES” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.0% and pay out 47.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. ZTO Express (Cayman) is clearly a better dividend stock than its rivals, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ZTO Express (Cayman) and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
ZTO Express (Cayman)	$45.21 billion	$1.21 billion	11.69
ZTO Express (Cayman) Competitors	$7.81 billion	$184.70 million	13.83

ZTO Express (Cayman) has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. ZTO Express (Cayman) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for ZTO Express (Cayman) and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ZTO Express (Cayman)	0	1	3	1	3.00
ZTO Express (Cayman) Competitors	365	1337	1514	90	2.40

ZTO Express (Cayman) currently has a consensus target price of $21.76, indicating a potential upside of 17.79%. As a group, “TRANS – SERVICES” companies have a potential downside of 0.94%. Given ZTO Express (Cayman)’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe ZTO Express (Cayman) is more favorable than its rivals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

41.7% of ZTO Express (Cayman) shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.5% of shares of all “TRANS – SERVICES” companies are held by institutional investors. 41.3% of ZTO Express (Cayman) shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 22.4% of shares of all “TRANS – SERVICES” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares ZTO Express (Cayman) and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ZTO Express (Cayman)	20.77%	15.91%	10.65%
ZTO Express (Cayman) Competitors	2.85%	-6.69%	2.80%

Risk & Volatility

ZTO Express (Cayman) has a beta of -0.18, meaning that its share price is 118% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ZTO Express (Cayman)’s rivals have a beta of 0.94, meaning that their average share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

ZTO Express (Cayman) beats its rivals on 12 of the 15 factors compared.

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.