Shenkman Capital Management Inc. Sells 147,000 Shares of LendingTree, Inc. $TREE

Key Points

• Shenkman Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in LendingTree, Inc. by 38.5% to approximately $11.81 million, owning 234,967 shares after selling 147,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including Nuveen Asset Management and Rhumbline Advisers, have recently adjusted their holdings in LendingTree, contributing to institutional investors owning 68.26% of the company's stock.
• LendingTree reported a 19.0% year-over-year revenue increase, with earnings per share beating analyst estimates at $1.13, and has an average price target of $65.38 from analysts.

Shenkman Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE - Free Report) by 38.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 234,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 147,000 shares during the period. LendingTree makes up approximately 1.2% of Shenkman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Shenkman Capital Management Inc. owned 1.74% of LendingTree worth $11,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 4.8% in the first quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 378,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,030,000 after purchasing an additional 17,343 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 3.7% in the first quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 249,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,543,000 after purchasing an additional 9,007 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LendingTree in the first quarter valued at approximately $11,603,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 204,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,940,000 after purchasing an additional 27,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 1.3% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 168,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the last quarter. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LendingTree Stock Performance

Shares of TREE stock traded up $6.33 on Friday, reaching $69.48. The stock had a trading volume of 474,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,147. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26. The firm's 50-day moving average is $45.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $946.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.11 and a beta of 1.58. LendingTree, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.50 and a 12 month high of $69.92.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $250.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $244.03 million. LendingTree had a negative net margin of 5.33% and a positive return on equity of 25.79%. The firm's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that LendingTree, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other LendingTree news, General Counsel Heather Enlow-Novitsky sold 1,250 shares of LendingTree stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $45,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 2,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $73,494.72. The trade was a 38.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 23.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TREE shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LendingTree from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $62.00 price objective on shares of LendingTree and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $65.38.

LendingTree Profile

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.