Lendingtree (TREE) Raised to Hold at Zacks Investment Research

Lendingtree (NASDAQ:TREE) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

According to Zacks, “LendingTree is the nation’s leading online loan marketplace, empowering consumers as they comparison-shop across a full suite of loan and credit-based offerings. LendingTree provides an online marketplace which connects consumers with multiple lenders that compete for their business, as well as an array of online tools and information to help consumers find the best loan. Since inception, LendingTree has facilitated more than 55 million loan requests. LendingTree provides free monthly credit scores through My LendingTree and access to its network of over 350 lenders offering home loans, personal loans, credit cards, student loans, business loans, home equity loans/lines of credit, auto loans and more. LendingTree, LLC is a subsidiary of LendingTree, Inc. “

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Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Lendingtree from $385.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 19th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Susquehanna Bancshares initiated coverage on shares of Lendingtree in a research report on Wednesday, March 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $325.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on shares of Lendingtree in a research report on Wednesday, May 30th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. BidaskClub lowered shares of Lendingtree from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on shares of Lendingtree in a research report on Wednesday, May 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $343.07.

NASDAQ:TREE traded up $1.60 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $212.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 21,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 317,460. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 70.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.80. Lendingtree has a one year low of $166.85 and a one year high of $404.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Lendingtree (NASDAQ:TREE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.12 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $181.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.13 million. Lendingtree had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 6.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. sell-side analysts forecast that Lendingtree will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, CEO Douglas R. Lebda sold 14,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.22, for a total transaction of $4,767,495.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 517,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,332,933.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robin Henderson sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.00, for a total transaction of $72,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,345. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 370,039 shares of company stock valued at $103,405,571 in the last ninety days. 20.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in Lendingtree by 81.1% in the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,266,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,673,000 after acquiring an additional 567,195 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Lendingtree by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 880,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,851,000 after acquiring an additional 15,596 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Lendingtree by 38.1% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 301,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,893,000 after acquiring an additional 83,215 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Lendingtree by 18.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 273,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,617,000 after acquiring an additional 41,798 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Lendingtree by 57.4% in the first quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 226,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,295,000 after acquiring an additional 82,557 shares during the period. 78.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lendingtree

LendingTree, Inc, through its subsidiary, LendingTree, LLC, operates an online loan marketplace for consumers seeking loans and other credit-based offerings in the United States. Its mortgage products comprise purchase and refinance products. The company also provides information, tools, and access to various conditional loan offers for non-mortgage products, including auto loans, credit cards, home equity loans, personal loans, reverse mortgages, small business loans, and student loans.

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