Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 766,600 shares, a drop of 32.8% from the December 31st total of 1,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 475,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Zillow Group

In related news, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 23,388 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.98, for a total transaction of $1,987,512.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 99,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,443,782.76. This trade represents a 19.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Bradley D. Owens sold 1,212 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $89,663.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 31,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,348,051.22. This trade represents a 3.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 164,689 shares of company stock valued at $12,520,379 in the last 90 days. 17.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ZG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Zillow Group by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 441,800 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,901,000 after buying an additional 35,503 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zillow Group in the second quarter valued at $211,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Zillow Group by 86.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Zillow Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Zillow Group by 18.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 34,258 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after buying an additional 5,377 shares during the period. 20.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ZG. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $36.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Zillow Group from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on Zillow Group from $70.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Zillow Group from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.83.

Zillow Group Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ZG opened at $79.20 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.80. Zillow Group has a 52 week low of $38.06 and a 52 week high of $83.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 3.13 and a current ratio of 3.13. The company has a market cap of $18.50 billion, a PE ratio of -138.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 2.09.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.03. Zillow Group had a negative net margin of 6.17% and a negative return on equity of 2.33%. The firm had revenue of $581.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $555.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Zillow Group will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc operates real estate brands in mobile applications and Websites in the United States. The company offers premier agent and rentals marketplaces, new construction marketplaces, advertising, display advertising, and business technology solutions, as well as dotloop and floor plans. It also provides mortgage originations and the sale of mortgages, and advertising to mortgage lenders and other mortgage professionals; and title and escrow services.