LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Northland Securities raised LendingTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on LendingTree from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of LendingTree from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Northland Capmk raised shares of LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LendingTree presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $64.00.

LendingTree Stock Performance

Shares of LendingTree stock opened at $46.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. The company has a market cap of $627.52 million, a PE ratio of -17.40 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.62 and a 200-day moving average of $48.24. LendingTree has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $62.49.

Insider Buying and Selling at LendingTree

In other LendingTree news, CTO Scott V. Totman acquired 3,750 shares of LendingTree stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $38.59 per share, with a total value of $144,712.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,192 shares in the company, valued at $702,029.28. This trade represents a 25.97 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas R. Lebda acquired 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.72 per share, with a total value of $516,360.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,829,912.28. This trade represents a 11.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new position in LendingTree during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,651,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in LendingTree during the third quarter worth $1,612,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in LendingTree in the third quarter valued at $1,045,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in LendingTree by 301.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 16,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in LendingTree by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 242,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,393,000 after acquiring an additional 15,400 shares during the period. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.