LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

TREE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LendingTree in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Truist Financial set a $78.00 target price on LendingTree in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on LendingTree from $83.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen cut LendingTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on LendingTree in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.60.

LendingTree Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:TREE opened at $44.80 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.14. LendingTree has a 12 month low of $32.65 and a 12 month high of $77.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $624.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 2.00.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.11). LendingTree had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 17.01%. The company had revenue of $319.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $321.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. LendingTree’s quarterly revenue was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that LendingTree will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in LendingTree during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,120,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in LendingTree by 1,747.8% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 546,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,260,000 after buying an additional 516,958 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,760,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,461,000 after acquiring an additional 421,826 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 1,163.1% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 263,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,078,000 after acquiring an additional 242,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Grotto Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of LendingTree by 64.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC now owns 584,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,054,000 after acquiring an additional 228,858 shares during the last quarter. 68.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LendingTree Company Profile

LendingTree, Inc operates an online marketplace that connects consumers with a network of lenders and financial service providers. Through its platform, borrowers can compare loan offers for mortgages, home equity loans, personal loans, student loans, auto loans and small business financing. The company also offers tools for comparing credit cards and deposit accounts, allowing users to research rates and terms from a range of providers in one place.

Founded in 1996 by Doug Lebda, LendingTree pioneered the comparison-shopping model for consumer credit products.