CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $82.1765.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BTIG Research upgraded CoStar Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of CoStar Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on shares of CoStar Group from $100.00 to $78.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $48.00 price objective on shares of CoStar Group and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of CoStar Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday.

CoStar Group Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of CoStar Group stock opened at $47.87 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.95. The stock has a market cap of $20.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 957.40, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.84. CoStar Group has a 12-month low of $43.80 and a 12-month high of $97.43.

CoStar Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 5.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CoStar Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CoStar Group by 35.6% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 411 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its holdings in CoStar Group by 1.9% during the second quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 5,763 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in CoStar Group by 1.4% in the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,376 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Wallace Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in CoStar Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,201 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, STF Management LP increased its position in CoStar Group by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. STF Management LP now owns 6,269 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. 96.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CoStar Group

CoStar Group, Inc is a provider of information, analytics and online marketplaces for the commercial real estate industry. The company gathers property-level data, builds market analytics and supplies research tools used by brokers, owners, lenders, investors and other real estate professionals to evaluate markets, track inventory and manage listings. CoStar’s offerings are delivered primarily through subscription-based platforms that combine proprietary databases, mapping and workflow applications to support decision-making across the property life cycle.

In addition to its core CoStar research service, the company operates prominent online listing and marketing platforms that connect buyers, sellers, tenants and brokers.