Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy”: Among 16 analysts, six rate Zillow Group a buy, three a strong buy, six a hold and one a sell. The average 12-month price target is $72.38.
• Zillow reported quarterly EPS of $0.53, beating estimates of $0.43, while revenue of $708 million slightly exceeded expectations. Shares opened at $34.06, versus a 12-month range of $29.23 to $93.88.
• Insiders sold 42,910 shares worth approximately $1.61 million in the last quarter, while hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of Zillow Group’s stock.

Shares of Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.3750.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Zillow Group from $95.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Zillow Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Zillow Group from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Zillow Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

Shares of Zillow Group stock opened at $34.06 on Monday. Zillow Group has a 12-month low of $29.23 and a 12-month high of $93.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 136.24, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.98. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $33.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.52.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $708.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $705.10 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 1.41%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zillow Group will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Bradley D. Owens sold 3,364 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.23, for a total value of $125,241.72. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 65,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,429,071.35. This represents a 4.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 9,072 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total transaction of $331,490.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 153,699 shares in the company, valued at $5,616,161.46. The trade was a 5.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 42,910 shares of company stock worth $1,605,732 in the last quarter. 23.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zillow Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Zillow Group by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 303,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,580,000 after purchasing an additional 32,387 shares during the period. Arlington Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 7,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the period. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of Zillow Group in the second quarter worth about $110,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 38,052 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Zillow Group during the first quarter worth about $166,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Zillow Group

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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