Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Zillow Group to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Zillow Group from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Zillow Group from $70.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Zillow Group from a “buy” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Zillow Group from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.57.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

ZG stock opened at $36.89 on Tuesday. Zillow Group has a 52 week low of $29.03 and a 52 week high of $90.22. The company has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of 147.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.95. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.83.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $772.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $758.25 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The business’s revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Zillow Group will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Zillow Group

In other Zillow Group news, Director Erik C. Blachford sold 791 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.80, for a total value of $27,526.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,216,329.60. The trade was a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Dan Spaulding sold 3,078 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.40, for a total value of $115,117.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,630.40. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their position. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,910 shares of company stock worth $1,605,732. 29.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Zillow Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $152,050,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its holdings in Zillow Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 2,024,556 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $138,135,000 after purchasing an additional 21,862 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Zillow Group by 38,344.0% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,604,270 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $120,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,097 shares in the last quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC raised its position in Zillow Group by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 1,023,733 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $69,849,000 after purchasing an additional 240,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,018,448 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $69,489,000 after purchasing an additional 313,643 shares in the last quarter. 20.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Zillow Group News

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 $0.44 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 17.9% year over year to $772 million, exceeding estimates of approximately $758 million. Zillow Group Beats Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc maintained its Buy rating, signaling continued analyst support following the quarterly results. KeyBanc Maintains Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Zillow expanded Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Hofmann’s responsibilities to include chief operating officer and appointed Cassandra Knight as its first chief legal and policy officer. The changes are intended to support the company’s housing “super app” strategy but add to leadership-transition uncertainty. Zillow Strengthens Executive Leadership Team
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance of $745 million to $760 million fell below the $772.3 million consensus estimate. Full-year revenue guidance of $2.9 billion to $3.0 billion also only reached, rather than exceeded, the roughly $3.0 billion analyst forecast, raising concerns about slowing growth. Zillow Stock Sinks on Layoffs and Soft Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Zillow recorded a $4 million net loss after $36 million in restructuring costs, contrasting with analysts’ expectation for approximately $21 million of net income. The company also eliminated more than 500 positions, or about 7% of its workforce, suggesting management is cutting costs amid operating challenges. Zillow Swings to Loss on Restructuring Costs
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms reiterated notices about a securities-fraud class action and an August 10 lead-plaintiff deadline involving alleged anticompetitive agreements and regulatory risks. The legal announcements add reputational and potential financial-risk overhang, although they do not represent a final finding of wrongdoing. Zillow Securities Fraud Class Action Notice

Zillow Group Company Profile

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.