LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.4167.

LZ has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of LegalZoom.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $6.00 target price (down from $9.00) on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LegalZoom.com in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of LegalZoom.com from $14.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on LegalZoom.com from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th.

LegalZoom.com Stock Performance

Shares of LZ stock opened at $5.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $947.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.25. LegalZoom.com has a 1-year low of $5.44 and a 1-year high of $12.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.02.

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.01). LegalZoom.com had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 2.04%.The business had revenue of $190.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LegalZoom.com will post 0.25 EPS for the current year.

LegalZoom.com declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 19th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other LegalZoom.com news, insider Nicole Miller sold 23,325 shares of LegalZoom.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.63, for a total value of $154,644.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 813,033 shares in the company, valued at $5,390,408.79. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Noel Bertram Watson sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total transaction of $104,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,480,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,306,785.60. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LegalZoom.com

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LZ. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LegalZoom.com by 368.6% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 406,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,223,000 after acquiring an additional 320,026 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in LegalZoom.com by 60.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,170,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,528,000 after purchasing an additional 817,462 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its holdings in LegalZoom.com by 43.9% during the third quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,281,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,305,000 after purchasing an additional 390,742 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in LegalZoom.com during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,397,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of LegalZoom.com by 125.1% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 419,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,729,000 after purchasing an additional 233,056 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About LegalZoom.com

LegalZoom.com, Inc (NASDAQ: LZ) operates as a leading online legal technology company that provides a broad range of legal and business services to individuals, families and small businesses. Through its digital platform, the company offers customized legal documents and filing services, including business formation (LLCs, corporations and nonprofits), estate planning (wills and trusts), intellectual property protection (trademarks and copyrights), and ongoing compliance support. LegalZoom also connects customers with independent attorneys for consultations on matters such as family law, immigration and real estate.

Founded in 2001 by entrepreneurs Brian Lee, Brian P.