Wall Street Zen Downgrades LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) to Buy

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

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

LendingTree Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ TREE opened at $39.94 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $49.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.67. LendingTree has a twelve month low of $32.65 and a twelve month high of $77.35. The stock has a market cap of $553.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 2.21.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of LendingTree by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 267,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,909,000 after buying an additional 18,207 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of LendingTree by 43.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 4,871 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of LendingTree in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $545,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in LendingTree by 12.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 1,223 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

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.