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

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE:ZIM) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 42,334 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 38% compared to the typical daily volume of 30,755 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ZIM. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from $28.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from $16.50 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Clarkson Capital upgraded ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Fearnley Fonds lowered shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.04.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ZIM Integrated Shipping Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZIM. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $417,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services during the 3rd quarter worth $385,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services in the third quarter valued at $31,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 50.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 9,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services by 106.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 19,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 10,202 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.42% of the company’s stock.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Stock Performance

Shares of ZIM opened at $19.83 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 1.74. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services has a 52-week low of $9.08 and a 52-week high of $30.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.50.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from ZIM Integrated Shipping Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $11.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 56.68%. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services’s dividend payout ratio is 9.72%.

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.