Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $221.44.

A number of research firms have weighed in on ZTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Argus upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price objective on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $190.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $86.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $188.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.20. Zoetis has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.67% and a net margin of 26.29%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Zoetis by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,749,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,895,235,000 after acquiring an additional 414,605 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,716,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,707,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,074 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Zoetis by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,687,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,695,000 after purchasing an additional 178,303 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Zoetis by 2.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,050,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,416,000 after purchasing an additional 90,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 5.8% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,044,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,774,000 after purchasing an additional 166,517 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.