Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (NYSE:ZIM)

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE:ZIM) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 42,663 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 44% compared to the average volume of 29,606 call options.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Price Performance

Shares of ZIM opened at $21.04 on Friday. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services has a 1-year low of $6.39 and a 1-year high of $21.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of -0.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.50.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (NYSE:ZIM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The company reported ($1.23) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.33) by $0.10. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services had a negative net margin of 47.59% and a negative return on equity of 14.80%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ZIM Integrated Shipping Services will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ZIM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 82.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 512,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,054,000 after acquiring an additional 231,955 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 1,204.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 173,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,600,000 after purchasing an additional 160,397 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 1,446.0% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 161,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 151,102 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 12.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 898,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,389,000 after purchasing an additional 99,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services in the first quarter worth about $854,000. Institutional investors own 21.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ZIM shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from $11.00 to $7.80 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from $9.30 to $9.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.51.

About ZIM Integrated Shipping Services

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides container shipping and related services in Israel and internationally. It provides door-to-door and port-to-port transportation services for various types of customers, including end-users, consolidators, and freight forwarders.