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

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Zillow Group from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Zillow Group from $50.00 to $37.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Zillow Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.38.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

Zillow Group stock opened at $36.10 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.84. The stock has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.40, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.98. Zillow Group has a fifty-two week low of $29.23 and a fifty-two week high of $93.88.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.07. Zillow Group had a return on equity of 1.41% and a net margin of 2.27%.The firm had revenue of $772.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $758.10 million. On average, analysts predict that Zillow Group will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zillow Group news, insider Dan Spaulding sold 3,078 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.40, for a total transaction of $115,117.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 49,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,630.40. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 9,072 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total transaction of $331,490.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 153,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,616,161.46. The trade was a 5.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,910 shares of company stock valued at $1,605,732. 25.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of Z. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Zillow Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 10,953,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,241,000 after acquiring an additional 94,569 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Zillow Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,826,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $738,554,000 after purchasing an additional 191,058 shares in the last quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC raised its position in shares of Zillow Group by 21.7% during the first 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Zillow Group by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,838,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $261,882,000 after acquiring an additional 143,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Zillow Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,363,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $228,898,000 after purchasing an additional 55,323 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Zillow Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zillow reported second-quarter revenue of $772 million, up approximately 18% year over year and above the $758 million analyst consensus. Adjusted earnings of $0.52 per share also exceeded estimates of roughly $0.44-$0.45 and improved from $0.40 a year earlier. Zillow Q2 earnings article
• Positive Sentiment: Management promoted senior executives and expanded CFO Jeremy Hofmann’s responsibilities to include chief operating officer. Zillow also appointed Cassandra Knight as its first chief legal and policy officer, changes intended to support its integrated housing “super app” strategy. Zillow executive leadership announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is eliminating more than 500 positions, or about 7% of its workforce, as part of an organizational restructuring. Zillow said the changes are intended to improve efficiency, but the near-term benefit is offset by substantial restructuring costs. A subsequent filing indicated that 91 Washington jobs were affected, with senior positions bearing much of the impact. Zillow workforce reduction article
• Negative Sentiment: Zillow posted a $4 million net loss despite the revenue and adjusted-EPS beats. A $36 million restructuring charge weighed on results, compared with analyst expectations for approximately $21 million of net income, creating concern about reported profitability. Zillow restructuring loss article
• Negative Sentiment: Forward guidance was soft: third-quarter revenue was projected at $745 million-$760 million, below the $772.3 million consensus, while full-year revenue guidance of $2.9 billion-$3.0 billion was only around or below the $3.0 billion estimate. The outlook prompted selling in after-hours trading. Zillow soft outlook article
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized securities-fraud class actions and an August 10 lead-plaintiff deadline tied to alleged misrepresentations concerning Zillow’s business practices. The repeated legal notices add reputational and potential financial risk, although the allegations have not been proven. Zillow securities lawsuit information

Zillow Group Company Profile

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.