Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 38,230 Shares of CoStar Group, Inc. $CSGP

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lowered its position in CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 231,626 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 38,230 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned about 0.05% of CoStar Group worth $19,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in CoStar Group during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CoStar Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Rossby Financial LCC grew its holdings in shares of CoStar Group by 315.9% during the second quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 341 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of CoStar Group during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of CoStar Group by 3,046.2% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 409 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.60% of the company’s stock.

CoStar Group Price Performance

CSGP stock opened at $65.81 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CoStar Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.01 and a 12-month high of $97.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,316.20, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.37.

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.04. CoStar Group had a net margin of 0.66% and a return on equity of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $833.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $823.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that CoStar Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

CoStar Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 5.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of CoStar Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of CoStar Group from $100.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target (down previously from $60.00) on shares of CoStar Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $68.00 target price on CoStar Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.59.

About CoStar Group

CoStar Group, Inc is a provider of information, analytics and online marketplaces for the commercial real estate industry. The company gathers property-level data, builds market analytics and supplies research tools used by brokers, owners, lenders, investors and other real estate professionals to evaluate markets, track inventory and manage listings. CoStar’s offerings are delivered primarily through subscription-based platforms that combine proprietary databases, mapping and workflow applications to support decision-making across the property life cycle.

In addition to its core CoStar research service, the company operates prominent online listing and marketing platforms that connect buyers, sellers, tenants and brokers.