Stifel Nicolaus Has Lowered Expectations for Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Price

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) had its price objective cut by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $210.00 to $180.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target points to a potential upside of 9.14% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on ZTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.89.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $164.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.31. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Zoetis will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zoetis

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 29,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,123,000 after acquiring an additional 3,428 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 132.6% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 1,830 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 233.7% during the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 17,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,995,000 after buying an additional 12,145 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $573,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Zoetis by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 202,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,183,000 after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Company Profile

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.