Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 11,360 Shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. has reduced its stake in LendingTree by 13.5%, now holding approximately 0.54% of the company, valued at $3.66 million.
• Analysts have given LendingTree a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $64.13, although some have recently downgraded their positions.
• LendingTree reported earnings of $0.99 per share, surpassing estimates, but had a negative net margin of 5.67% despite a year-over-year revenue increase of 42.8%.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE - Free Report) by 13.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,820 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,360 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of LendingTree worth $3,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TREE. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LendingTree by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 75,564 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,928,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of LendingTree by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of LendingTree by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LendingTree in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LendingTree by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LendingTree from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of LendingTree in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of LendingTree from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at LendingTree

In other news, General Counsel Heather Enlow-Novitsky sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 38.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 23.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LendingTree Stock Up 0.5%

TREE stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $46.77. 117,158 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 311,438. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $633.03 million, a P/E ratio of -11.32 and a beta of 1.61. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $37.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.30. LendingTree, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.50 and a 1-year high of $62.49.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $239.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.93 million. LendingTree had a negative net margin of 5.67% and a positive return on equity of 14.76%. LendingTree's revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that LendingTree, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About LendingTree

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.