Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in LendingTree, Inc. $TREE

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 725,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $32,140,000. LendingTree makes up about 1.6% of Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. owned about 5.17% of LendingTree as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of LendingTree by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,760,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,461,000 after acquiring an additional 421,826 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LendingTree during the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,329,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of LendingTree by 74.0% during 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. Blue Grotto Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 64.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC now owns 584,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,054,000 after purchasing an additional 228,858 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 1,747.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 546,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,260,000 after purchasing an additional 516,958 shares during the period. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TREE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of LendingTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Northland Securities set a $60.00 price target on shares of LendingTree in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $70.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LendingTree currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.33.

LendingTree Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:TREE opened at $29.80 on Thursday. LendingTree, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.70 and a 52 week high of $77.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.85. The company has a market cap of $418.39 million, a PE ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that LendingTree, Inc. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LendingTree Profile

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.