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

Key Points

• Moderate Buy consensus from 26 analysts (14 buys, 1 strong buy, 10 holds, 1 sell) with an average 12‑month price target of about $77.05.
• Most recent quarter showed a slight EPS miss ($0.39 vs. $0.42 expected) but revenue of $654M was up 18.1% year‑over‑year; the company trades at a very high P/E (~527) and has thin profitability (net margin 0.89%).
• Insiders sold roughly 60,801 shares (~$2.68M) in the last quarter while insiders own 17.14% of the stock, and institutional investors (e.g., AQR, Millennium, UBS) have recently increased positions, with overall hedge fund ownership at about 20.32%.

Shares of Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $77.0455.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $72.00 price target on Zillow Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Susquehanna set a $50.00 price target on Zillow Group in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Zillow Group from $56.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Zillow Group Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of ZG stock opened at $47.44 on Tuesday. Zillow Group has a fifty-two week low of $39.14 and a fifty-two week high of $90.22. The stock has a market cap of $11.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 527.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 2.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.78.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). Zillow Group had a net margin of 0.89% and a return on equity of 0.56%. The firm had revenue of $654.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $650.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zillow Group will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO David A. Beitel sold 3,966 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total transaction of $175,376.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 136,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,044,431.80. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dan Spaulding sold 5,361 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $235,615.95. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,805,466. This represents a 11.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 60,801 shares of company stock worth $2,683,986 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 17.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Zillow Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZG. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Zillow Group by 40.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,890 shares of the technology company's stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Zillow Group by 110.8% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 290,999 shares of the technology company's stock worth $19,456,000 after purchasing an additional 152,955 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Zillow Group by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 87,912 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,878,000 after purchasing an additional 5,737 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Zillow Group by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 21,093 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in Zillow Group by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 7,933 shares of the technology company's stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.32% of the company's stock.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group NASDAQ: ZG is a U.S.-based online real estate marketplace that connects consumers, real estate professionals and mortgage lenders through a suite of digital products and advertising services. Founded in 2006 by Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company operates a portfolio of consumer-facing brands and tools designed to simplify home search, rental discovery, valuation and mortgage shopping.

Zillow's core products include its consumer websites and mobile apps that list homes for sale and rent, the Zestimate automated home value estimate, and marketplaces that connect buyers and renters with agents and lenders.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.