Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Given “Hold” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their hold rating on shares of Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Evercore downgraded Zillow Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Zillow Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Zillow Group from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Zillow Group from $60.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Zillow Group from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zillow Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.71.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

Z opened at $30.29 on Thursday. Zillow Group has a 1 year low of $26.67 and a 1 year high of $77.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a PE ratio of -58.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.98.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $724.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $753.54 million. Zillow Group had a positive return on equity of 3.18% and a negative net margin of 3.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zillow Group will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Zillow Group news, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 9,339 shares of the business’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 $319,207.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 138,574 shares in the company, valued at $4,736,459.32. The trade was a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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, insider Dan Spaulding sold 3,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.37, for a total value of $112,087.53. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 44,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,576,122.57. The trade was a 6.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 38,539 shares of company stock worth $1,323,800 in the last quarter. Insiders own 25.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zillow Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of Z. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Zillow Group by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Zillow Group in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new position in Zillow Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,402,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Zillow Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 22,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Zillow Group by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 9,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Zillow Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue increased 7% year over year, with the rentals business helping cushion weakness in home sales. Zillow also said its “Zillow Preferred” model can generate more revenue per buyer connection than its prior model. Zillow Revenue Rises as Rentals Help Offset Weak Market for Home Sales How Zillow Is Staying Flexible in a Brittle Housing Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its “hold” rating, signaling no change in its view of the shares. Needham rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Zillow reported third-quarter EPS of $0.55, below the roughly $0.58 consensus, while revenue of $724 million also missed expectations of about $754 million. Zillow misses Q3 earnings and revenue estimates
• Negative Sentiment: The company expects fourth-quarter revenue of $635 million to $665 million and forecasts purchase mortgage originations to decline 10%–15%, indicating continued pressure on its home-financing business. Zillow Q4 outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Housing-market indicators were weak in October: newly pending listings fell 16.8% year over year, while Zillow’s preliminary measure of existing-home sales declined 8.7%. Fewer transactions could weigh on sales-related revenue. October housing market report

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.