LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on TREE. Zacks Research downgraded LendingTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on LendingTree from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of LendingTree in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of LendingTree from $83.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

LendingTree Stock Down 6.7%

Shares of NASDAQ TREE opened at $42.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $586.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 2.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.19. LendingTree has a 52-week low of $32.65 and a 52-week high of $77.35.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TREE. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LendingTree by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in LendingTree by 1.3% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of LendingTree by 272.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of LendingTree by 10.5% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 4,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of LendingTree in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. 68.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.