Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Tree.com Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.
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. “
Several other research firms also recently weighed in on TREE. Vetr raised shares of Tree.com from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $118.86 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, August 8th. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of Tree.com from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 29th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Tree.com from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 29th. RBC Capital Markets reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Tree.com in a report on Thursday, July 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Tree.com in a report on Wednesday, September 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $128.63.
Shares of Tree.com (NASDAQ:TREE) traded down 0.25% during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $80.60. 98,062 shares of the stock traded hands. Tree.com has a one year low of $52.11 and a one year high of $131.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $90.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.05. The stock has a market cap of $950.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83 and a beta of 1.36.
Tree.com (NASDAQ:TREE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 27th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.04. Tree.com had a return on equity of 26.82% and a net margin of 14.43%. The firm had revenue of $94.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $97.43 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Tree.com will post $3.23 earnings per share for the current year.
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TREE. Granahan Investment Management Inc. MA raised its stake in Tree.com by 882.7% in the first quarter. Granahan Investment Management Inc. MA now owns 559,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,672,000 after buying an additional 502,237 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Square Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Tree.com during the second quarter worth about $29,208,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in Tree.com by 343.0% in the second quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 287,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,383,000 after buying an additional 222,491 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Acquisition Ltd. purchased a new stake in Tree.com during the second quarter worth about $11,728,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Tree.com by 582,842.9% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 40,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,990,000 after buying an additional 40,799 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.74% of the company’s stock.
About Tree.com
LendingTree, Inc (LendingTree), formerly Tree.com, Inc, is engaged in operating an online loan marketplace for consumers. The Company offers a range of loan types and other credit-based offerings for its consumers. The Company operates through Lending activities segment. The Company’s online marketplace provides consumers with access to product offerings from various lenders, which it refers to as Network Lenders, including mortgage loans, home equity, reverse mortgage, auto loans, credit cards, personal loans, student loans and small business loans, and other related offerings.