LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Short Interest Down 27.8% in March

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 960,382 shares, a drop of 27.8% from the February 26th total of 1,329,332 shares. Currently, 9.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 562,515 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LendingTree

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in 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 valued at $93,461,000 after purchasing an additional 421,826 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of LendingTree during the 4th quarter worth $31,120,000. Blue Grotto Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of LendingTree by 64.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC now owns 584,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,054,000 after buying an additional 228,858 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of LendingTree by 1,747.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 546,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,260,000 after buying an additional 516,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in LendingTree by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 469,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,934,000 after buying an additional 121,993 shares in the last quarter. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LendingTree Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of LendingTree stock opened at $41.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $578.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. LendingTree has a 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $77.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.32.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The financial services provider reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($1.29). LendingTree had a net margin of 13.55% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The firm had revenue of $310.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $286.56 million. The business’s revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that LendingTree will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded LendingTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on LendingTree from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered LendingTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on LendingTree from $83.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of LendingTree in a report on Monday, December 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.00.

LendingTree Company 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.