Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) Stock Gets Downgrade from Zacks Research

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ZG. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $52.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $46.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Zillow Group from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, November 9th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $38.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank set a $80.00 target price on Zillow Group in a report on Monday, August 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.67.

Zillow Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ZG traded up $1.00 on Thursday, hitting $30.11. 990,867 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,250,431. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -57.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.95. Zillow Group has a 12 month low of $27.25 and a 12 month high of $74.80. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.59.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.05). Zillow Group had a negative net margin of 3.95% and a positive return on equity of 3.23%. The company had revenue of $724.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $753.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Zillow Group will post 0.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Claire Thielke sold 1,187 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.71, for a total transaction of $42,387.77. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,811.25. This represents a 33.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $193,492.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,021,541.92. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 16,979 shares of company stock valued at $583,370 over the last three months. Company insiders own 29.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zillow Group during the second quarter worth $29,000. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Zillow Group in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Zillow Group by 183.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 984 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 990.3% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,014 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Zillow Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.32% of the company’s stock.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc. operates a digital real estate marketplace focused primarily on the United States. Its websites and mobile apps help consumers find homes for sale and rent, explore neighborhood information, and research home values. The company’s brands include Zillow, Trulia, StreetEasy and HotPads. Zillow Group also provides services for real estate professionals, including advertising and customer-management tools, and offers mortgage services through Zillow Home Loans. Zillow launched in 2006, founded by Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink, and grew into a parent company with multiple real estate brands and services.