CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $88.07.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on CoStar Group from $99.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of CoStar Group in a research note on Friday, February 28th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of CoStar Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of CoStar Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of CoStar Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

CoStar Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CSGP opened at $79.92 on Friday. CoStar Group has a twelve month low of $68.26 and a twelve month high of $95.71. The company has a current ratio of 8.96, a quick ratio of 9.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $32.78 billion, a PE ratio of 228.34 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $77.29 and its 200 day moving average is $75.82.

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The firm had revenue of $709.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $703.00 million. CoStar Group had a net margin of 5.07% and a return on equity of 3.11%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CoStar Group will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

CoStar Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Cynthia Cammett Cann sold 1,749 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.90, for a total transaction of $139,745.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,456 shares in the company, valued at $2,353,534.40. The trade was a 5.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CoStar Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSGP. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of CoStar Group by 101.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,553 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 7,317 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 289,470 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $21,838,000 after buying an additional 8,169 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of CoStar Group by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 27,914 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,106,000 after buying an additional 2,966 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of CoStar Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in CoStar Group by 12.5% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,359 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.60% of the company’s stock.

About CoStar Group

CoStar Group, Inc provides information, analytics, and online marketplace services to the commercial real estate, hospitality, residential, and related professionals industries in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company offers CoStar Property that provides inventory of office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hospitality, and student housing properties and land; CoStar Sales, a robust database of comparable commercial real estate sales transactions; CoStar Market Analytics to view and report on aggregated market and submarket trends; and CoStar Tenant, an online business-to-business prospecting and analytical tool that provides tenant information.