Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore cut Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered Zillow Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Zillow Group from $84.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 price target on shares of Zillow Group in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.50.

Zillow Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:Z opened at $33.61 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.05 and a 200-day moving average of $41.54. The firm has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 152.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.98. Zillow Group has a twelve month low of $29.23 and a twelve month high of $93.88.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.07. Zillow Group had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 2.32%. The business had revenue of $772.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $758.10 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Zillow Group will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Zillow Group

In other news, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,501 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.40, for a total transaction of $205,737.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 68,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,554,981. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Erik C. Blachford sold 791 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.80, for a total value of $27,526.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,216,329.60. The trade was a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,910 shares of company stock worth $1,605,732. 25.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in Z. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zillow Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Zillow Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Leonteq Securities AG boosted its stake in Zillow Group by 627.0% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 1,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Zillow Group by 283.2% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Zillow Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zillow Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Zillow Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zillow reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.52 per share, above the roughly $0.44–$0.45 consensus estimate, while revenue of $772 million also exceeded expectations. Revenue increased 18% year over year, providing evidence of continued business growth. Zillow Q2 earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: July home sales rose 7% year over year, the strongest annual increase of the year, potentially supporting Zillow’s transaction-related businesses. Zillow July market report

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc is an online real estate marketplace company that operates a portfolio of consumer-facing websites and mobile apps designed to connect buyers, sellers, renters, homeowners and real estate professionals. The company’s platforms aggregate property listings, rental listings, and related information to help users search for homes, estimate property values and connect with agents and service providers. Zillow generates revenue primarily through advertising and lead-generation services for real estate professionals, property managers and mortgage lenders.

Key products and services include the Zillow and Trulia consumer websites and apps, which provide searchable listings, photos, neighborhood data and the company’s automated home valuation tool known as the “Zestimate.” Zillow also offers a rentals marketplace, a mortgage marketplace and tools for home buying and selling such as Zillow Premier Agent for agent advertising and leads, as well as ancillary services designed to support transactions, including closing and title-related offerings.