Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) Stock Price

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) had its price target cut by equities researchers at Citigroup from $88.00 to $86.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.04% from the company’s previous close.

CSGP has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com lowered CoStar Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on CoStar Group from $100.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CoStar Group in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of CoStar Group in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on CoStar Group from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

CoStar Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CSGP traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $78.16. 2,264,213 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,679,905. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $73.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.37. CoStar Group has a one year low of $68.26 and a one year high of $100.38. The company has a quick ratio of 9.63, a current ratio of 9.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $32.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 223.08 and a beta of 0.87.

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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $703.00 million. CoStar Group had a return on equity of 3.13% and a net margin of 5.07%. Research analysts anticipate that CoStar Group will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CoStar Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at CoStar Group

In related news, insider Michael J. Desmarais sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.88, for a total transaction of $439,340.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,784.24. This trade represents a 8.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CoStar Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSGP. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CoStar Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of CoStar Group by 534.8% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 419 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of CoStar Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in CoStar Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in CoStar Group by 414.4% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 499 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.60% of the company’s stock.

CoStar Group Company Profile

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.