Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys 11,941 Shares of CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in CoStar Group by 12.2%, owning a total of 110,049 shares valued at approximately $8.7 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Multiple research firms have raised their price targets for CoStar Group, with a consensus average target of $93.25 and an overall rating of "Moderate Buy."
• CoStar Group reported a 15.2% year-over-year increase in revenue, reaching $781.3 million, and earnings per share of $0.17, surpassing estimates.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP - Free Report) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,049 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,941 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in CoStar Group were worth $8,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in CoStar Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in CoStar Group during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in CoStar Group by 137.4% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 406 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CoStar Group in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CoStar Group by 414.4% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 499 shares of the technology company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. 96.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CoStar Group Price Performance

NASDAQ CSGP traded up $2.23 on Monday, hitting $96.83. 2,245,509 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,209,109. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $82.75 and a 200-day moving average of $79.09. The company has a current ratio of 5.83, a quick ratio of 5.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. CoStar Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.26 and a 52 week high of $97.15. The stock has a market cap of $41.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 387.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.85.

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $781.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $772.06 million. CoStar Group had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 2.88%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. Analysts expect that CoStar Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CSGP shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of CoStar Group from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of CoStar Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Stephens raised shares of CoStar Group to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of CoStar Group from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of CoStar Group in a research note on Friday, May 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $79.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CoStar Group news, CAO Cynthia Cammett Cann sold 2,033 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.85, for a total transaction of $188,764.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 25,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,392,837.35. This represents a 7.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederick G. Saint sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.23, for a total transaction of $2,330,750.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 319,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,790,620.97. This trade represents a 7.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.