Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Stake in LendingTree, Inc. $TREE

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its LendingTree stake by 95.7% in the first quarter, selling 53,295 shares and retaining 2,370 shares valued at approximately $102,000.
• Other institutional investors increased their positions, including Jennison Associates, Punch & Associates, and Arrowstreet Capital; institutions collectively own 68.26% of LendingTree stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive, with five Buy ratings and two Holds, but price targets were reduced. LendingTree reported $0.68 in quarterly EPS—below the $1.41 consensus—despite revenue rising 25.3% year over year.

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its holdings in shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE - Free Report) by 95.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 53,295 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada's holdings in LendingTree were worth $102,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 33.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 274,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,765,000 after buying an additional 68,466 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of LendingTree by 74.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,020,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,747,000 after acquiring an additional 434,038 shares during the last quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 647,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,745,000 after acquiring an additional 177,391 shares during the period. Jacobs Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in LendingTree during the 1st quarter valued at about $643,000. Finally, Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in LendingTree during the 1st quarter worth approximately $619,000. 68.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on TREE shares. Zacks Research lowered LendingTree from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of LendingTree from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of LendingTree from $70.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LendingTree in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LendingTree from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.33.

LendingTree Price Performance

TREE opened at $28.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 1.85. LendingTree, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.51 and a 52-week high of $77.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.68 million, a PE ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 2.04. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $37.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.47.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.73). LendingTree had a net margin of 14.33% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The business had revenue of $313.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. LendingTree's revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that LendingTree, Inc. will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

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.

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