LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Stock Picked Up by Analysts at Stephens

Research analysts at Stephens began coverage on shares of LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Zacks reports. The brokerage set a “strong-buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on TREE. Northland Securities set a $60.00 price objective on shares of LendingTree in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of LendingTree from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on LendingTree from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen cut LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of LendingTree from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, November 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.60.

LendingTree Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ TREE traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $35.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 221,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,727. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. LendingTree has a twelve month low of $23.50 and a twelve month high of $68.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $502.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 1.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.86.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported ($5.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($6.41). The firm had revenue of $343.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.72 million. LendingTree had a return on equity of 15.92% and a net margin of 7.60%. LendingTree’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that LendingTree will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TREE. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in LendingTree by 572.0% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of LendingTree during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in LendingTree by 54.2% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 1,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of LendingTree by 578.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 2,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of LendingTree by 123.5% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,336 shares in the last quarter. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About LendingTree

LendingTree, Inc. operates an online marketplace that connects consumers with financial institutions and other providers. Through its platform, users can compare offers and seek products such as mortgages, personal and auto loans, credit cards, insurance, and deposit accounts. Founded in 1996 by Doug Lebda, LendingTree helped bring loan comparison shopping online. The company serves consumers in the United States and also operates comparison and financial-information websites, including CompareCards and ValuePenguin.