Mizuho Upgrades Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) to “Strong-Buy”

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Mizuho to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up from $60.00) on shares of Zillow Group in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Zillow Group from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Zillow Group in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $92.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Zillow Group in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.78.

Zillow Group Stock Down 4.5%

Zillow Group stock opened at $74.44 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $80.41 and a 200-day moving average of $72.05. Zillow Group has a twelve month low of $55.08 and a twelve month high of $90.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.03 billion, a PE ratio of -286.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 21.71 and a beta of 2.02.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $655.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $647.06 million. Zillow Group had a negative return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 2.60%.The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Zillow Group will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Richard N. Barton sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.92, for a total transaction of $16,984,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 843,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,608,620.16. The trade was a 19.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dan Spaulding sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.91, for a total transaction of $8,591,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 68,889 shares in the company, valued at $5,918,253.99. This trade represents a 59.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 657,087 shares of company stock valued at $56,286,479 in the last ninety days. 17.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Zillow Group by 38.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 60.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,044 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 2,288 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Zillow Group in the 1st quarter valued at $370,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Zillow Group by 253.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 20,980 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 15,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Zillow Group by 8.0% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 51,030 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 20.32% of the company’s stock.

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.