Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on Z. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Zillow Group from $84.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Zillow Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zillow Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.00.

Zillow Group Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Z opened at $35.06 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 140.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.38. Zillow Group has a 12-month low of $34.37 and a 12-month high of $93.88.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $708.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $705.10 million. Zillow Group had a return on equity of 1.41% and a net margin of 2.27%. As a group, analysts predict that Zillow Group will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Dan Spaulding sold 3,078 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.40, for a total transaction of $115,117.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 49,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,630.40. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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, General Counsel Bradley D. Owens sold 3,364 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.23, for a total value of $125,241.72. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 65,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,429,071.35. This represents a 4.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 42,119 shares of company stock valued at $1,578,206 in the last three months. 25.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zillow Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Zillow Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,073,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,777,841,000 after purchasing an additional 71,336 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in Zillow Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 10,953,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,241,000 after buying an additional 94,569 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Zillow Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,826,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $738,554,000 after buying an additional 191,058 shares in the last quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC grew its holdings in Zillow Group by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 7,368,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $304,927,000 after buying an additional 1,312,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Zillow Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,838,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $261,882,000 after buying an additional 143,726 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

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.