Analysts Set LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) PT at $48.50

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.43.

TREE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of LendingTree from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of LendingTree from $15.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of LendingTree from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of LendingTree in a report on Thursday.

LendingTree Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ TREE opened at $39.78 on Monday. LendingTree has a 1-year low of $10.12 and a 1-year high of $52.76. The company has a market cap of $526.29 million, a PE ratio of -3.83 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a current ratio of 3.71, a quick ratio of 3.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.33.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25) by $0.36. The business had revenue of $167.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.03 million. LendingTree had a negative net margin of 21.07% and a positive return on equity of 1.34%. As a group, equities analysts expect that LendingTree will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at LendingTree

In other news, Director Gabriel Dalporto sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.17, for a total value of $72,345.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,661.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other LendingTree news, Director Steven Ozonian sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.31, for a total transaction of $71,339.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,599.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gabriel Dalporto sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.17, for a total transaction of $72,345.14. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,478 shares in the company, valued at $224,661.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,802 shares of company stock valued at $673,219 over the last 90 days. 23.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TREE. Shenkman Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of LendingTree by 186.2% in the fourth quarter. Shenkman Capital Management Inc. now owns 343,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,413,000 after purchasing an additional 223,440 shares during the period. Blue Grotto Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of LendingTree in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,930,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of LendingTree by 53.9% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 256,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,868,000 after purchasing an additional 89,900 shares during the period. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of LendingTree in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,361,000. Finally, Alta Park Capital LP bought a new position in shares of LendingTree in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,297,000. 68.26% of the stock is 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.