Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zillow Group was downgraded by Zacks Research from strong-buy to hold, even though the broader analyst consensus still stands at Moderate Buy with an average price target of $77.00.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $0.53 versus estimates of $0.43 and revenue of $708 million, slightly above expectations.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including CEO Jeremy Wacksman and General Counsel Bradley D. Owens, while institutional investors continue to hold a large majority of the stock.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Zillow Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Zillow Group in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Zillow Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Zillow Group from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zillow Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.00.

Zillow Group Price Performance

Shares of Z stock opened at $35.06 on Thursday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $40.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.38. Zillow Group has a one year low of $34.37 and a one year high of $93.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 140.24, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.97.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $708.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $705.10 million. Zillow Group had a return on equity of 1.41% and a net margin of 2.27%. As a group, research analysts expect that Zillow Group will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Bradley D. Owens sold 3,364 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.23, for a total value of $125,241.72. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 65,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,429,071.35. This trade represents a 4.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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, 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 value of $331,490.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 153,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,616,161.46. This represents a 5.57% 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. Insiders sold 42,119 shares of company stock worth $1,578,206 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 25.03% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,073,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,777,841,000 after purchasing an additional 71,336 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,826,066 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $738,554,000 after purchasing an additional 191,058 shares in the last quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 21.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,312,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $261,882,000 after purchasing an additional 143,726 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zillow Group Company Profile

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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