Jeremy Hofmann Sells 3,510 Shares of Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Stock

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z) CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 3,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.24, for a total value of $120,182.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,923.20. This trade represents a 5.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.

Jeremy Hofmann also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 17th, Jeremy Hofmann sold 5,661 shares of Zillow Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $193,492.98.

Zillow Group Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ Z opened at $34.57 on Wednesday. Zillow Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.23 and a 12 month high of $93.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.73. The company has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 157.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.98.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $772.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $758.10 million. Zillow Group had a return on equity of 2.32% and a net margin of 1.96%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on Z. Zacks Research cut shares of Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Zillow Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Zillow Group from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Zillow Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zillow Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zillow Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Leonteq Securities AG lifted its position in Zillow Group by 627.0% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 1,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Zillow Group by 283.2% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in Zillow Group during the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Zillow Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA raised its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 1,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Zillow Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Zillow Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rents are accelerating: Zillow’s Observed Rent Index showed typical U.S. asking rent reached $1,962 in July, up 2.3% year over year—the fastest growth in more than a year. Strong rental demand could support Zillow’s listings, advertising and property-manager businesses. Rents near $2,000, rising at the fastest pace in over a year
• Neutral Sentiment: Rental conditions are mixed: Although rents are rising, 39.8% of Zillow-listed rentals offered concessions in July, compared with 35.9% a year earlier. This suggests demand is healthy but property managers still face enough competition to provide discounts, potentially limiting revenue benefits.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales were largely tax-related: Executives and insiders, including CEO Jeremy Wacksman, CFO Jeremy Hofmann, CAO Jennifer Rock, CTO David Beitel and others, sold a combined 35,373 shares worth roughly $1.21 million. The transactions occurred under a pre-arranged trading plan or to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, reducing—but not eliminating—the bearish significance. Zillow Group insider trading report
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst views remain cautious: Recent target-price reductions and an Evercore downgrade to “hold” indicate concern about Zillow’s outlook and valuation. The consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy,” but the stock’s elevated earnings multiple and price well below its 200-day moving average highlight ongoing investor concerns.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc is an online real estate marketplace company that operates a portfolio of consumer-facing websites and mobile apps designed to connect buyers, sellers, renters, homeowners and real estate professionals. The company’s platforms aggregate property listings, rental listings, and related information to help users search for homes, estimate property values and connect with agents and service providers. Zillow generates revenue primarily through advertising and lead-generation services for real estate professionals, property managers and mortgage lenders.

Key products and services include the Zillow and Trulia consumer websites and apps, which provide searchable listings, photos, neighborhood data and the company’s automated home valuation tool known as the “Zestimate.” Zillow also offers a rentals marketplace, a mortgage marketplace and tools for home buying and selling such as Zillow Premier Agent for agent advertising and leads, as well as ancillary services designed to support transactions, including closing and title-related offerings.