Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Short Interest Up 26.3% in December

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 13,742,200 shares, a growth of 26.3% from the December 15th total of 10,884,389 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,589,155 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,589,155 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 54.0% during the second quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 3,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 54.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 67.0% during the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $750,000 after buying an additional 1,961 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Zoetis by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 77,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,124,000 after buying an additional 3,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 59.6% during the 2nd quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 26,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,091,000 after buying an additional 9,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded down $0.49 on Friday, hitting $124.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,047,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,062,379. The company has a market capitalization of $54.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $123.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.35. Zoetis has a 12 month low of $115.25 and a 12 month high of $177.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 3.64.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 28.21% and a return on equity of 57.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. HSBC set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Zoetis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $136.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.18.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc (NYSE: ZTS) is a global animal health company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products and services for companion animals and livestock. The company’s offerings include pharmaceuticals, vaccines and biologics, parasiticides and anti-infectives, as well as diagnostic instruments, consumables and laboratory testing services. Zoetis serves the veterinary community, livestock producers and other animal-health customers with products designed to prevent, detect and treat disease and to support animal productivity and welfare.

Zoetis traces its roots to the animal health business of Pfizer and became an independent, publicly traded company following a 2013 separation and initial public offering.