Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Zillow Group from “Buy” to “Hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $68.50.
• Zillow’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $0.52 versus the $0.45 consensus and revenue of $772 million versus $758.1 million expected; revenue rose 18% year over year.
• The stock opened at $33.61, well below its 52-week high of $93.88, while insiders sold 42,910 shares worth about $1.6 million over the past three months and institutional investors own 71.01% of outstanding shares.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on Z. Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 price objective on Zillow Group in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered Zillow Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group cut their price target on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore lowered shares of Zillow Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.50.

Zillow Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Zillow Group stock opened at $33.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 152.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.98. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $33.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.54. Zillow Group has a 1-year low of $29.23 and a 1-year high of $93.88.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $772.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $758.10 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 2.32%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zillow Group will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Zillow Group

In other news, General Counsel Bradley D. Owens sold 3,364 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.23, for a total transaction of $125,241.72. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 65,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,429,071.35. The trade was a 4.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,501 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 68,315 shares in the company, valued at $2,554,981. This represents a 7.45% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 42,910 shares of company stock worth $1,605,732. Corporate insiders own 25.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Zillow Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Zillow Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 10,953,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $747,241,000 after purchasing an additional 94,569 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Zillow Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,826,066 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $738,554,000 after buying an additional 191,058 shares during the period. Tiger Global Management LLC grew its position in shares of Zillow Group by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 7,368,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $304,927,000 after buying an additional 1,312,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,838,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $261,882,000 after acquiring an additional 143,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,363,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $228,898,000 after acquiring an additional 55,323 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Zillow Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Zillow Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zillow reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.52 per share, above the roughly $0.44–$0.45 consensus estimate, while revenue of $772 million also exceeded expectations. Revenue increased 18% year over year, providing evidence of continued business growth. Zillow Q2 earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: July home sales rose 7% year over year, the strongest annual increase of the year, potentially supporting Zillow’s transaction-related businesses. Zillow July market report

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.

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.

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