Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.25.

ZD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ziff Davis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ziff Davis from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ziff Davis from $29.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ziff Davis from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $48.00 target price on shares of Ziff Davis in a research note on Monday, May 11th.

Ziff Davis Price Performance

ZD stock opened at $50.42 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.62 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Ziff Davis has a 12-month low of $22.45 and a 12-month high of $50.55.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $267.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.32 million. Ziff Davis had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ziff Davis will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kirk P. Mcdonald sold 1,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.65, for a total transaction of $50,148.75. Following the sale, the director owned 13,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,282.20. The trade was a 7.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bret Richter sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.88, for a total transaction of $843,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,244 shares in the company, valued at $1,370,958.72. The trade was a 38.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 31,422 shares of company stock valued at $1,468,864 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ziff Davis

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ZD. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Ziff Davis by 2.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 160,656 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,696 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Ziff Davis by 1.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 188,595 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,709,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Ziff Davis by 46.2% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 100,549 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,044,000 after acquiring an additional 31,765 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ziff Davis during the second quarter worth about $927,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ziff Davis during the second quarter worth about $380,000. Institutional investors own 99.76% of the company’s stock.

Ziff Davis Company Profile

Ziff Davis, Inc is a digital media and internet company that operates a diverse portfolio of online brands, subscription-based services and performance marketing platforms. The company specializes in technology publishing and digital marketing solutions, offering content, reviews and insights tailored to consumer and enterprise audiences. Ziff Davis’s flagship media properties include PCMag, which provides expert reviews and comparisons of consumer electronics and software, as well as IGN, a leading destination for gaming news, reviews and entertainment coverage.

Founded in 1927 by William B.