Wall Street Zen Upgrades LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) to “Strong-Buy”

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on TREE. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on LendingTree from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on LendingTree from $83.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of LendingTree in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded LendingTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

LendingTree Trading Down 6.7%

TREE opened at $42.90 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.67 and its 200-day moving average is $57.22. LendingTree has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $77.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $586.44 million, a P/E ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 2.21.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The financial services provider reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($1.29). LendingTree had a net margin of 13.55% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The firm had revenue of $310.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $286.56 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that LendingTree will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingTree

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of LendingTree by 5.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 53.4% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 224,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,305,000 after acquiring an additional 78,012 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in LendingTree by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 267,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,909,000 after purchasing an additional 18,207 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in LendingTree by 43.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 4,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in LendingTree during the 2nd quarter valued at about $545,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

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.