Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $180.00.

Several brokerages have commented on ZTS. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $158.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Argus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Zoetis from $211.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $140.00 price objective on Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $120.78 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.50. The stock has a market cap of $53.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis has a twelve month low of $117.26 and a twelve month high of $181.85.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 56.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Zoetis will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 33.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Zoetis during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 496.6% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 201.5% during the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.