Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.50 Per Share

Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 12th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share on Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43.

Zoetis has raised its dividend payment by an average of 20.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Zoetis has a dividend payout ratio of 28.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Zoetis to earn $6.38 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.3%.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $166.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $170.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. Zoetis has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.53. The stock has a market cap of $74.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Zoetis will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.89.

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.