LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

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

LendingTree Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TREE opened at $44.80 on Tuesday. LendingTree has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $77.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.59 and a 200 day moving average of $45.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $624.96 million, a P/E 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $319.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $321.32 million. LendingTree had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 17.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that LendingTree will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mariner LLC grew its stake in LendingTree by 31.5% in the 4th 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. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in LendingTree by 74.0% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,020,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,747,000 after purchasing an additional 434,038 shares during the last quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of LendingTree by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 647,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,745,000 after buying an additional 177,391 shares during the last quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC increased its position in shares of LendingTree by 64.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC now owns 584,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,054,000 after purchasing an additional 228,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in LendingTree by 1,747.8% during the 2nd 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 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 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.