LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Now Covered by Stephens

Stephens started coverage on shares of LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) in a research note released on Thursday,Zacks reports. The brokerage issued a strong-buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on LendingTree from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Northland Securities set a $60.00 price target on LendingTree in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on LendingTree from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on LendingTree from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LendingTree presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.60.

LendingTree Price Performance

Shares of LendingTree stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $35.76. The company 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. The company has a market capitalization of $502.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 1.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.86. LendingTree has a 1-year low of $23.50 and a 1-year high of $68.93.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($6.41). LendingTree had a return on equity of 15.92% and a net margin of 7.60%. The firm had revenue of $343.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that LendingTree will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingTree

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TREE. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in LendingTree by 77.1% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 277,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,791,000 after purchasing an additional 121,009 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $670,000 after buying an additional 2,329 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 147.8% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $569,000 after buying an additional 13,881 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LendingTree in the 3rd quarter valued at $235,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 254.9% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 91,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,242,000 after buying an additional 65,899 shares during the period. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LendingTree Company Profile

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.