ZTO Express Announces $300 Million Buyback Plan

ZTO Express saw its shares make a handy gain to kick off the week after the company announced a new share repurchase program.

Published May 22, 2017, 11:25am ET · 2 min read

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ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO) saw its shares make a handy gain to kick off the week after the company announced a new share repurchase program. ZTO plans to repurchase up to $300 million of its class A ordinary shares in the form of American depositary shares over the next 12 months. The company will finance these repurchases through its existing cash balance.

Keep in mind that this was one of the largest initial public offerings back in 2016, raising about $1.62 billion in the IPO. The company currently has a market cap of approximately $10.6 billion.

Excluding Monday’s move, ZTO has actually outperformed the broad markets, with the stock up 16% year to date. Although the stock has performed well in 2017, its performance since the IPO has been very underwhelming. The stock was originally priced at $19.50 when it came public in October.

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Mr. Meisong Lai, founder and chief executive of ZTO, commented:

The Company’s share repurchase plan demonstrates our confidence in the Company’s strategy, operating fundamentals and the future business prospects of China’s express delivery industry. We are committed to creating more value for our shareholders.

ZTO provides express delivery service through its nationwide network, as well as other value-added logistics services. The company has developed one of the most extensive and reliable delivery networks in China, covering over 96% of China’s cities and counties.

Shares of ZTO were last seen up 4.7% at $14.66 on Monday, with a consensus analyst price target of $17.39 and a 52-week trading range of $11.14 to $18.45.

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Chris Lange

Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.

His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.

When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.

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