ZIM Integrated price target raised to $28 from $25 at Jefferies

Jefferies raised the firm’s price target on ZIM Integrated (ZIM) to $28 from $25 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. Q3 earnings “jumped off the charts,” driven by a very strong freight market, but also due to management’s deliberate action to avoid contracting at low rates and staying highly exposed to spot rates, the analyst tells investors. ZIM declared a regular $2.81 per share dividend, consistent with its normal 30% quarterly payout ratio, and “a very unexpected” 84c per share special dividend for a total of $3.65 per share, notes the analyst, who thinks that despite lower earnings, the Q4 payout “could be just as strong.”