StockNews.com Lowers LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) to Hold

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on TREE. Susquehanna lifted their target price on LendingTree from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stephens boosted their price objective on LendingTree from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on LendingTree from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on LendingTree from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on LendingTree from $56.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.13.

LendingTree Stock Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ:TREE traded down $1.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $46.52. The stock had a trading volume of 215,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,069. The company has a market capitalization of $620.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.48 and a beta of 2.11. LendingTree has a 1-year low of $10.12 and a 1-year high of $59.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 3.71.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.19). LendingTree had a negative net margin of 19.02% and a negative return on equity of 2.98%. The company had revenue of $210.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $187.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that LendingTree will post -0.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at LendingTree

In other news, Director Steven Ozonian sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.31, for a total transaction of $71,339.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,599.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TREE. Shenkman Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in LendingTree by 186.2% in the 4th quarter. Shenkman Capital Management Inc. now owns 343,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,413,000 after purchasing an additional 223,440 shares during the period. Alta Park Capital LP acquired a new position in LendingTree in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,297,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its stake in LendingTree by 185.2% in the 1st quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 19,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 12,889 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of LendingTree during the 4th quarter valued at $1,240,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LendingTree by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,419,000 after buying an additional 22,581 shares during the period. 68.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About LendingTree

LendingTree, Inc, through its subsidiary, operates online consumer platform in the United States. It operates through three segments: Home, Consumer, and Insurance. The Home segment offers purchase mortgage, refinance mortgage, and home equity loans and lines of credit; and real estate brokerage services.