LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Stephens

Stock analysts at Stephens began coverage on shares of LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports. The brokerage set a “strong-buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

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

LendingTree Price Performance

NASDAQ TREE traded up $0.45 on Thursday, hitting $35.76. 221,678 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 409,727. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.68 and a 200-day moving average of $36.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. LendingTree has a 52 week low of $23.50 and a 52 week high of $68.93. The stock has a market cap of $502.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 1.99.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingTree

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TREE. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake 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 valued at $6,791,000 after purchasing an additional 121,009 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 9.3% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 13,881 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LendingTree in the third quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of LendingTree by 254.9% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 91,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,242,000 after buying an additional 65,899 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

About LendingTree

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.