Zillow shares surge as strong home segment boosts revenue – Reuters

FILE PHOTO – A “For Rent” sign is placed in front of a home in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., June 8, 2021. Picture taken June 8, 2021. REUTERS/Will Dunham

Feb 11 (Reuters) – Shares of Zillow Group Inc (ZG.O) rose 13% on Friday after the online real estate firm’s fourth-quarter revenue handily beat estimates, helped by a strong performance at its home segment.

The segment, which helps customers list their properties for sale, marked an 11-fold rise in revenue as Zillow managed to sell inventory faster and at better prices despite setbacks due to the Omicron coronavirus variant.

The results hint at a turn in Zillow’s fortunes. The company’s shares slumped nearly 50% in November, when unpredictable home prices forced Zillow to announce a surprise exit from its business of flipping houses. read more

As part of the exit, Zillow is selling more properties to New York-based investment firm Pretium Partners, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Pretium recently bought more than 800 properties from Zillow for nearly $300 million and signed a roughly $150 million agreement to acquire 400 more, according to the report.

Zillow reported quarterly revenue of $3.88 billion, compared with analysts’ estimates of $2.98 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Several brokerages raised their price targets on the company’s stock, on Zillow’s move toward a “housing super app”, with the company aiming to integrate the processes related to buying or selling a house.

Zillow’s shares were trading at $54.37.

Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Shounak Dasgupta

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.