LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Research Coverage Started at Stephens

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

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings cut LendingTree from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, November 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on LendingTree from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on LendingTree from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.60.

LendingTree Stock Up 1.3%

TREE traded up $0.45 during 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 market cap of $502.07 million, a P/E ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 1.99. LendingTree has a 12 month low of $23.50 and a 12 month high of $68.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $27.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.86.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported ($5.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($6.41). The firm had revenue of $343.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.72 million. LendingTree had a return on equity of 15.92% and a net margin of 7.60%. LendingTree’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that LendingTree will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

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