LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on LendingTree from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of LendingTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $83.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of LendingTree in a report on Monday, December 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LendingTree presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.00.

LendingTree Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TREE opened at $40.75 on Friday. LendingTree has a fifty-two week low of $32.65 and a fifty-two week high of $77.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $564.80 million, a P/E ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

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

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TREE. Mariner LLC increased its position in LendingTree by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,760,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,461,000 after buying an additional 421,826 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of LendingTree during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,120,000. Blue Grotto Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of LendingTree by 64.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC now owns 584,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,054,000 after acquiring an additional 228,858 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of LendingTree by 1,747.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 546,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,260,000 after acquiring an additional 516,958 shares during the period. Finally, Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of LendingTree by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 469,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,934,000 after acquiring an additional 121,993 shares during the last quarter. 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 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.