Jacobs Asset Management LLC Invests $643,000 in LendingTree, Inc. $TREE

Jacobs Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 15,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $643,000. LendingTree makes up approximately 0.4% of Jacobs Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Jacobs Asset Management LLC owned about 0.11% of LendingTree as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 177,391 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 123.5% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 2,336 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 274,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,765,000 after buying an additional 68,466 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of LendingTree by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,412,000 after buying an additional 5,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of LendingTree by 192.6% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 3,428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

LendingTree Stock Performance

TREE opened at $39.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $544.05 million, a PE ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 2.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.06 and a 200-day moving average of $44.18. LendingTree, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $77.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $321.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that LendingTree, Inc. will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on TREE shares. Truist Financial set a $78.00 price objective on LendingTree in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LendingTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of LendingTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of LendingTree from $70.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LendingTree in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LendingTree has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.20.

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.