Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on Z. Weiss Ratings cut Zillow Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Zillow Group from $84.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $95.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Zillow Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.38.

Zillow Group Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Z opened at $36.10 on Tuesday. Zillow Group has a fifty-two week low of $29.23 and a fifty-two week high of $93.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.84. The company has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 144.40, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.98.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z) last issued its quarterly 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. Zillow Group had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The company had revenue of $772.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $758.10 million. Research analysts forecast that Zillow Group will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Zillow Group

In other Zillow Group news, insider Errol G. Samuelson sold 2,939 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.97, for a total value of $111,593.83. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 134,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,089,460.83. The trade was a 2.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Jeremy Wacksman sold 9,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total transaction of $331,490.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 153,699 shares in the company, valued at $5,616,161.46. This represents a 5.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,910 shares of company stock worth $1,605,732. Corporate insiders own 25.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of Z. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 4.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Zillow Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its stake in Zillow Group by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 3,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 55,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,269,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zillow Group by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 4,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Zillow Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zillow reported second-quarter revenue of $772 million, up approximately 18% year over year and above the $758 million analyst consensus. Adjusted earnings of $0.52 per share also exceeded estimates of roughly $0.44-$0.45 and improved from $0.40 a year earlier. Zillow Q2 earnings article
• Positive Sentiment: Management promoted senior executives and expanded CFO Jeremy Hofmann’s responsibilities to include chief operating officer. Zillow also appointed Cassandra Knight as its first chief legal and policy officer, changes intended to support its integrated housing “super app” strategy. Zillow executive leadership announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is eliminating more than 500 positions, or about 7% of its workforce, as part of an organizational restructuring. Zillow said the changes are intended to improve efficiency, but the near-term benefit is offset by substantial restructuring costs. A subsequent filing indicated that 91 Washington jobs were affected, with senior positions bearing much of the impact. Zillow workforce reduction article
• Negative Sentiment: Zillow posted a $4 million net loss despite the revenue and adjusted-EPS beats. A $36 million restructuring charge weighed on results, compared with analyst expectations for approximately $21 million of net income, creating concern about reported profitability. Zillow restructuring loss article
• Negative Sentiment: Forward guidance was soft: third-quarter revenue was projected at $745 million-$760 million, below the $772.3 million consensus, while full-year revenue guidance of $2.9 billion-$3.0 billion was only around or below the $3.0 billion estimate. The outlook prompted selling in after-hours trading. Zillow soft outlook article
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized securities-fraud class actions and an August 10 lead-plaintiff deadline tied to alleged misrepresentations concerning Zillow’s business practices. The repeated legal notices add reputational and potential financial risk, although the allegations have not been proven. Zillow securities lawsuit information

Zillow Group Company Profile

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.