Zacks Research Downgrades LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) to Hold

Key Points

• Analysts at Zacks Research have downgraded LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in their latest report.
• Despite the downgrade, LendingTree has received other positive ratings, with two analysts rating it a "strong buy" and an average target price of $65.38.
• LendingTree's recent earnings report showed a revenue of $250.1 million, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting a 19% year-over-year increase.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded LendingTree from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of LendingTree from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial set a $62.00 price target on shares of LendingTree and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of LendingTree from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.38.

LendingTree Price Performance

TREE stock opened at $64.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $881.62 million, a P/E ratio of -15.94 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. LendingTree has a 52-week low of $33.50 and a 52-week high of $77.35.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that LendingTree will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at LendingTree

In related news, Director Diego A. Rodriguez sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.78, for a total transaction of $83,736.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,113 shares in the company, valued at $566,125.14. The trade was a 12.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Bengel sold 6,469 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.86, for a total transaction of $445,455.34. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $448,760.62. This represents a 49.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,669 shares of company stock valued at $598,331. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingTree

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of LendingTree by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 90,550 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,357,000 after buying an additional 3,468 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 36.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 19,403 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 5,146 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in LendingTree by 281.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares during the period. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 69.0% during the second quarter. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC now owns 305,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,328,000 after acquiring an additional 124,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 66.9% during the second quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 67,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,509,000 after acquiring an additional 27,129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.26% of the company's stock.

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.

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