Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) Stock Price Up 7.5% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Zillow Group shares jumped 7.5% to about $31.47, although trading volume was substantially below average.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $51.19, despite several firms maintaining Buy or Overweight ratings.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.52 in EPS versus $0.44 expected and $772 million in revenue, up 17.9% year over year; insiders, however, have sold shares recently to cover tax obligations.

Shares of Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG - Get Free Report) were up 7.5% on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $31.10 and last traded at $31.4690. 169,595 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 1,153,487 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Zillow Group from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Monday, August 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $75.00 to $46.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Zillow Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.19.

Zillow Group Stock Up 7.7%

The firm has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 142.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 2.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.42.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $772.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $758.25 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 2.32%. Zillow Group's revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zillow Group

In other news, CTO David A. Beitel sold 1,798 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.24, for a total transaction of $61,563.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 133,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,554,365.12. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,661 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $193,492.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,144 shares in the company, valued at $2,021,541.92. This trade represents a 8.74% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 38,539 shares of company stock worth $1,323,800 in the last three months. 29.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Zillow Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $436,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its position in Zillow Group by 1,290.7% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 95,959 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,010,000 after buying an additional 89,059 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Zillow Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in Zillow Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $340,000. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Zillow Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.32% of the company's stock.

Zillow Group Company Profile

Zillow Group, Inc is a digital real estate company that operates online marketplaces and technology platforms designed to help consumers buy, sell, rent and finance homes. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company serves the U.S. residential real estate market through a portfolio of well-known brands.

Its flagship Zillow platform provides home listings, property information, estimated home values through its Zestimate tool, rental listings, mortgage resources and connections to real estate professionals.

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