Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.05 EPS

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The technology company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.05), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $724.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $753.66 million. Zillow Group had a return on equity of 2.32% and a net margin of 1.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share.

Zillow Group Stock Up 9.9%

ZG stock opened at $34.45 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.82 and a 200-day moving average of $38.87. The firm has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a PE ratio of 156.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.95. Zillow Group has a 12-month low of $27.25 and a 12-month high of $74.80.

Zillow Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue increased about 7% year over year, with the rentals business helping offset weak home-sales conditions. This suggests Zillow’s rental operations are providing some resilience amid a challenging housing market. Article: Zillow Revenue Rises as Rentals Help Offset Weak Market for Home Sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada and KeyCorp lowered their price targets to $45 and $42, respectively, but kept positive ratings (“outperform” and “overweight”). Their revised targets still imply upside from the price cited in the reports. Royal Bank of Canada recommendation KeyCorp recommendation
• Negative Sentiment: Zillow reported third-quarter earnings of $0.55 per share, below the Zacks consensus estimate of $0.60, despite earning $0.44 per share a year earlier. The earnings miss may weigh on investor sentiment. Article: Zillow Group Misses Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: The company described the housing market as exceptionally difficult, and a separate report says analysts have become more cautious, including a modest reduction in estimated fair value. Article: Zillow Group Stock Sees Modest Fair Value Cut As Analysts Turn More Cautious

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ZG shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $21.00 target price on Zillow Group in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Zillow Group from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.10.

Insider Transactions at Zillow Group

In related news, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $193,492.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,021,541.92. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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, CTO David Beitel sold 1,798 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.24, for a total transaction of $61,563.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 133,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,554,365.12. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,539 shares of company stock worth $1,323,800. Company insiders own 29.88% of the company’s stock.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc is a digital real estate company that operates online marketplaces and technology platforms for consumers, real estate professionals, and other housing industry participants. Its services are designed to help people search for homes, understand property values, connect with agents, and manage transactions throughout the residential real estate process.

The company’s portfolio includes Zillow, Trulia, StreetEasy, HotPads, and ShowingTime+. Zillow provides home listings, estimated property values, rental information, agent connections, mortgage resources, and other housing-related tools.