LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.75.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of LendingTree in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of LendingTree from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Northland Securities raised shares of LendingTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of LendingTree from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at LendingTree

In other news, COO Scott Peyree bought 9,794 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.13 per share, for a total transaction of $451,797.22. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 97,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,500,719.58. This trade represents a 11.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingTree

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 361,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,997,000 after purchasing an additional 4,831 shares during the last quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC now owns 301,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,694,000 after purchasing an additional 11,784 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 253,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 242,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,393,000 after purchasing an additional 15,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 204,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,940,000 after purchasing an additional 27,887 shares during the last quarter. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LendingTree Stock Up 0.6 %

TREE stock opened at $51.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $692.20 million, a P/E ratio of -19.14 and a beta of 2.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. LendingTree has a 52 week low of $33.58 and a 52 week high of $62.49.

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.