Weiss Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in Zillow Group, Inc. $Z

Key Points

• Weiss Asset Management bought a new 42,132-share Zillow Group stake valued at approximately $1.74 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.01% of the company.
• Zillow faces renewed securities-fraud litigation tied to alleged misrepresentations about an anticompetitive agreement, adding regulatory and legal risk for shareholders.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $72.38, despite recent target reductions; Zillow’s latest quarterly earnings and revenue exceeded consensus estimates.

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 42,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,743,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Zillow Group by 4.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Zillow Group by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,186 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Zillow Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,550 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 3,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 55,410 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,269,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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:

• Negative Sentiment: Zillow faces renewed legal overhang after Bleichmar Fonti & Auld said a class action was filed over alleged securities fraud linked to its anticompetitive agreement, adding pressure from potential regulatory and litigation risks. Article: Zillow Sued for Fraud Over Misrepresentations about its Anticompetitive Agreement
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms, including ClaimsFiler, Kahn Swick & Foti, Rosen, Faruqi & Faruqi, and Pomerantz, issued investor alerts urging shareholders who bought Zillow shares during the class period to seek counsel or pursue lead-plaintiff status, keeping the litigation story in focus. Article: Zillow Shareholder Alert: ClaimsFiler Reminds Investors...
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, so it does not appear to be a driver of the stock move.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zillow’s rent report noted U.S. asking rents rose 2.2% year over year in June, while concessions remained elevated; this is informative for the housing backdrop but not a direct catalyst for the shares. Article: Rent is ticking up, but so are the deals

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Z has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Zillow Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Zillow Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Zillow Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zillow Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.38.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:Z opened at $30.76 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a PE ratio of 123.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.98. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.23 and a 12-month high of $93.88. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $33.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.75.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zillow Group news, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,501 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.40, for a total transaction of $205,737.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 68,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,554,981. This represents a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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, insider Dan Spaulding sold 3,078 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were 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 $1,858,630.40. This represents a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 sold a total of 42,910 shares of company stock valued at $1,605,732 in the last three months. 23.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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