LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) saw a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 217,900 shares, a decrease of 30.1% from the September 15th total of 311,700 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 185,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

LendingTree Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TREE traded up $0.54 on Monday, hitting $60.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 137,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 226,706. LendingTree has a 12 month low of $10.12 and a 12 month high of $62.27. The company has a market capitalization of $810.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.16 and a beta of 2.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $210.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $187.41 million. LendingTree had a negative net margin of 19.02% and a negative return on equity of 2.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LendingTree will post -0.36 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TREE. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LendingTree in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,380,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LendingTree by 53.9% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 256,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,868,000 after purchasing an additional 89,900 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in LendingTree by 25.0% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 292,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,182,000 after acquiring an additional 58,500 shares in the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC bought a new position in LendingTree during the second quarter worth about $1,360,000. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lifted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 9.3% in the second quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 280,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,676,000 after purchasing an additional 23,995 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on TREE. Northland Securities increased their target price on LendingTree from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on LendingTree from $56.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial raised their price target on LendingTree from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stephens increased their price target on LendingTree from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on LendingTree from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.13.

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.