Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) Trading 4% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZG) traded up 4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $71.69 and last traded at $71.61. 161,916 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 577,381 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Zillow Group from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Zillow Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Zillow Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Zillow Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zillow Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.25.

Zillow Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $16.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -148.57, a P/E/G ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 2.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.72.

Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The technology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.48). Zillow Group had a negative return on equity of 2.12% and a negative net margin of 5.01%. As a group, analysts forecast that Zillow Group, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Zillow Group

In related news, COO Jun Choo sold 55,000 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.18, for a total transaction of $4,299,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 86,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,790,167.54. The trade was a 38.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeremy Hofmann sold 23,388 shares of Zillow Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.98, for a total transaction of $1,987,512.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,443,782.76. This represents a 19.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,065 shares of company stock worth $7,660,165 in the last three months. Insiders own 17.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zillow Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ZG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zillow Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $165,326,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Zillow Group by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,025,060 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,523,000 after buying an additional 32,766 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Zillow Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 805,279 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $49,871,000 after buying an additional 2,832 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Zillow Group by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 445,664 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,578,000 after buying an additional 27,345 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in Zillow Group by 101.3% in the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 420,255 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,775,000 after buying an additional 211,482 shares during the period. 20.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc operates real estate brands in mobile applications and Websites in the United States. The company offers premier agent and rentals marketplaces, new construction marketplaces, advertising, display advertising, and business technology solutions, as well as dotloop and floor plans. It also provides mortgage originations and the sale of mortgages, and advertising to mortgage lenders and other mortgage professionals; and title and escrow services.