Head-To-Head Comparison: ZTO Express (Cayman) (ZTO) versus Its Competitors

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO) is one of 45 public companies in the “TRANS – SERVICES” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare ZTO Express (Cayman) to similar businesses based on the strength of its institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

ZTO Express (Cayman) has a beta of -0.18, meaning that its share price is 118% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ZTO Express (Cayman)’s rivals have a beta of 0.94, meaning that their average share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ZTO Express (Cayman) and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
ZTO Express (Cayman)	$45.21 billion	$1.21 billion	11.42
ZTO Express (Cayman) Competitors	$9.45 billion	$184.70 million	14.15

ZTO Express (Cayman) has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. ZTO Express (Cayman) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares ZTO Express (Cayman) and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ZTO Express (Cayman)	20.77%	15.91%	10.65%
ZTO Express (Cayman) Competitors	2.85%	-6.69%	2.80%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for ZTO Express (Cayman) and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ZTO Express (Cayman)	0	1	3	1	3.00
ZTO Express (Cayman) Competitors	364	1332	1507	90	2.40

ZTO Express (Cayman) currently has a consensus price target of $21.76, suggesting a potential upside of 20.55%. As a group, “TRANS – SERVICES” companies have a potential downside of 2.80%. Given ZTO Express (Cayman)’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe ZTO Express (Cayman) is more favorable than its rivals.

Dividends

ZTO Express (Cayman) pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. ZTO Express (Cayman) pays out 43.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “TRANS – SERVICES” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.9% and pay out 47.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. ZTO Express (Cayman) is clearly a better dividend stock than its rivals, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.7% of ZTO Express (Cayman) shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.5% of shares of all “TRANS – SERVICES” companies are owned by institutional investors. 41.3% of ZTO Express (Cayman) shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 23.1% of shares of all “TRANS – SERVICES” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

ZTO Express (Cayman) beats its rivals on 12 of the 15 factors compared.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Company Profile

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. provides express delivery and other value-added logistics services in the People's Republic of China. It offers freight forwarding services; and delivery services for e-commerce and traditional merchants, and other express service users. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.