Bankrate, Inc. (NYSE:RATE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Bankrate, Inc. (NYSE:RATE) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.33.

RATE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Bankrate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 5th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Bankrate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Bankrate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 5th. ValuEngine downgraded Bankrate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 2nd. Finally, Sidoti downgraded Bankrate from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, July 3rd.

COPYRIGHT VIOLATION NOTICE: This report was originally published by [[site]] and is the sole property of of [[site]]. If you are reading this report on another website, it was illegally stolen and reposted in violation of U.S. & international trademark and copyright legislation. The legal version of this report can be read at [[permalink]].

Bankrate (NYSE RATE) traded down 0.36% during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $13.90. 340,453 shares of the company’s stock traded hands. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $13.54 and its 200 day moving average is $11.33. Bankrate has a 52-week low of $7.10 and a 52-week high of $14.25. The firm’s market cap is $1.23 billion.

Bankrate (NYSE:RATE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 7th. The bank reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. Bankrate had a negative net margin of 4.61% and a positive return on equity of 6.50%. The company had revenue of $115.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Bankrate will post $0.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, CFO Steven Barnhart sold 9,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total value of $116,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 295,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,542,664. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Speltz sold 12,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.95, for a total value of $146,985.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 279,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,342,809.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,745 shares of company stock worth $273,021 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oaktop Capital Management II L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Bankrate during the second quarter valued at $14,501,000. Teachers Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bankrate by 932.7% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 786,230 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,688,000 after buying an additional 710,095 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bankrate during the fourth quarter valued at $4,991,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Bankrate by 14.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,601,679 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,757,000 after buying an additional 447,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bankrate by 800.1% in the first quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 402,426 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,884,000 after buying an additional 357,716 shares during the last quarter. 48.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bankrate Company Profile

Bankrate, Inc is a publisher, aggregator and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. The Company provides consumers personal finance editorial content across multiple vertical categories, including mortgages, deposits, credit cards, senior care and other personal finance categories. The Company’s segments include Banking, Credit Cards, Senior Care and Other.