Shareholders in LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) may be thrilled to learn that the analysts have just delivered a major upgrade to their near-term forecasts. The consensus estimated revenue numbers rose, with their view now clearly much more bullish on the company's business prospects.

After the upgrade, the eight analysts covering LendingTree are now predicting revenues of US$853m in 2024. If met, this would reflect a sizeable 28% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Losses are expected to turn into profits real soon, with the analysts forecasting US$0.59 in per-share earnings. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$717m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.57 in 2024. Sentiment certainly seems to have improved in recent times, with a nice increase in revenue and a slight bump in earnings per share estimates.

With these upgrades, we're not surprised to see that the analysts have lifted their price target 18% to US$62.88 per share.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the LendingTree's past performance and to peers in the same industry. One thing stands out from these estimates, which is that LendingTree is forecast to grow faster in the future than it has in the past, with revenues expected to display 63% annualised growth until the end of 2024. If achieved, this would be a much better result than the 7.2% annual decline over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 12% per year. So it looks like LendingTree is expected to grow faster than its competitors, at least for a while.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away from this upgrade is that analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates for this year, expecting improving business conditions. They also upgraded their revenue estimates for this year, and sales are expected to grow faster than the wider market. There was also a nice increase in the price target, with analysts apparently feeling that the intrinsic value of the business is improving. Seeing the dramatic upgrade to this year's forecasts, it might be time to take another look at LendingTree.

Even so, the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for the value creation of shareholders. We have estimates - from multiple LendingTree analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies backed by insiders.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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