CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Needham & Company LLC from $87.00 to $98.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the technology company's stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CSGP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on CoStar Group from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on CoStar Group in a report on Friday, February 28th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of CoStar Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Friday, February 28th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of CoStar Group in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CoStar Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.31.

CoStar Group Stock Performance

Shares of CSGP traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.68. 570,730 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,816,997. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $78.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.86 billion, a PE ratio of 222.06 and a beta of 0.88. CoStar Group has a 52-week low of $68.26 and a 52-week high of $92.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 8.96 and a quick ratio of 9.63.

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22. CoStar Group had a net margin of 5.07% and a return on equity of 3.11%. The company had revenue of $709.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $703.00 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that CoStar Group will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

CoStar Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Cynthia Cammett Cann sold 1,749 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.90, for a total transaction of $139,745.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,353,534.40. This represents a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CoStar Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 73.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,358,331 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $177,913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,177 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in CoStar Group by 497.9% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,133 shares of the technology company's stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 5,940 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,950 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CoStar Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,446,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 91.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,249,188 shares of the technology company's stock worth $169,678,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,793 shares in the last quarter. 96.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CoStar Group

CoStar Group, Inc provides information, analytics, and online marketplace services to the commercial real estate, hospitality, residential, and related professionals industries in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company offers CoStar Property that provides inventory of office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hospitality, and student housing properties and land; CoStar Sales, a robust database of comparable commercial real estate sales transactions; CoStar Market Analytics to view and report on aggregated market and submarket trends; and CoStar Tenant, an online business-to-business prospecting and analytical tool that provides tenant information.