Short Interest in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Drops By 20.9%

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) saw a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,510,000 shares, a decline of 20.9% from the February 13th total of 8,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS traded up $2.70 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $163.96. 544,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,532,101. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.10. Zoetis has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zoetis

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Zoetis by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,755,000 after buying an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth about $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,541 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $178,688,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ZTS. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

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.