Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Hits New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Zillow shares fell to a new 52-week low of $27.20, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $33.20 and $36.45, respectively.
• Despite recent analyst downgrades and lower price targets, Wall Street’s consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average target price of $61.29.
• Zillow beat quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.52 versus $0.45 expected and revenue of $772 million versus $758.1 million estimated; insiders have nevertheless sold shares, primarily to cover tax obligations on vested equity awards.

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $27.20 and last traded at $27.44, with a volume of 4962080 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Z has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Zillow Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 target price on shares of Zillow Group in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Evercore cut shares of Zillow Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.29.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $33.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a PE ratio of 124.73, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 2.00.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $772.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $758.10 million. Zillow Group had a return on equity of 2.32% and a net margin of 1.96%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,661 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $193,492.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,021,541.92. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 3,169 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.37, for a total transaction of $112,087.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 44,561 shares in the company, valued at $1,576,122.57. This represents a 6.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 38,539 shares of company stock valued at $1,323,800 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 23.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zillow Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Zillow Group in the second quarter valued at $4,676,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zillow Group during the second quarter worth about $78,000. Maven Securities LTD increased its position in shares of Zillow Group by 80.0% during the second quarter. Maven Securities LTD now owns 73,385 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,313,000 after purchasing an additional 32,616 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Zillow Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $238,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 229.9% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 17,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 11,909 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc is a digital real estate company that operates online marketplaces and technology platforms designed to help consumers discover, buy, sell, rent and finance homes. Its websites and mobile applications provide property listings, home values, market data, search tools and connections to real estate professionals.

The company's portfolio includes Zillow, Trulia, StreetEasy and HotPads, which serve residential real estate consumers and professionals across the United States.

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