Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms “Hold” Rating for Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z)

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Zillow Group from $60.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Zillow Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Zillow Group from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.71.

Zillow Group Trading Up 9.4%

Shares of Zillow Group stock opened at $33.90 on Thursday. Zillow Group has a 12-month low of $26.67 and a 12-month high of $77.07. The company has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 154.10, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.63.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $724.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $753.55 million. Zillow Group had a net margin of 1.96% and a return on equity of 2.32%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zillow Group will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zillow Group news, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $193,492.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,144 shares in the company, valued at $2,021,541.92. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. Also, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 9,339 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $319,207.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 138,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,736,459.32. This trade represents a 6.31% 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 have sold 38,539 shares of company stock valued at $1,323,800 over the last quarter. Insiders own 25.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Zillow Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Zillow Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Zillow Group by 146.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new position in shares of Zillow Group during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG lifted its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 627.0% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 1,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc (NASDAQ: Z) operates a digital real estate marketplace in the United States. Its platforms help consumers search for homes, research neighborhoods and market conditions, connect with real estate professionals, and manage various steps in the home-buying, selling, renting and financing processes.

The company’s portfolio includes Zillow, Trulia, StreetEasy and HotPads, which provide property listings and real estate information. Zillow Group also offers services for real estate professionals, including marketing, lead generation, transaction management and showing coordination through products such as Zillow Premier Agent and ShowingTime+.

Through Zillow Home Loans and other affiliated services, the company provides or facilitates mortgage and closing-related solutions.