Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Ziff Davis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZD) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $71.50.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Ziff Davis from $52.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Ziff Davis from $58.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Ziff Davis in a research report on Friday, September 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ZD. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ziff Davis during the 4th quarter worth $1,257,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Ziff Davis by 63.6% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 296,572 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $18,696,000 after purchasing an additional 115,258 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ziff Davis by 4.6% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,623 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Ziff Davis by 8.2% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 113,196 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,231,000 after buying an additional 8,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Ziff Davis by 14.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,057,314 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $113,255,000 after buying an additional 257,056 shares during the period. 99.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ziff Davis Price Performance

ZD opened at $44.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.26. Ziff Davis has a 1 year low of $37.76 and a 1 year high of $70.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The technology company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.08). Ziff Davis had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 5.86%. The firm had revenue of $320.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.44 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ziff Davis will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ziff Davis Company Profile

Ziff Davis, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital media and internet company in the United States and internationally. The company offers PCMag, an online resource for laboratory-based product reviews, technology news, buying guides, and research papers; Mashable for publishing technology and culture content; Spiceworks Ziff Davis provides digital content of IT products and services; retailMeNot, a savings destination platform; Offers.com, a coupon and deals website; and event-based properties, including BlackFriday.com, TheBlackFriday.com, BestBlackFriday.com, and DealsofAmerica.com.