LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $64.13.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on TREE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on LendingTree from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on LendingTree from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on LendingTree from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of LendingTree in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on LendingTree from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

LendingTree Stock Up 2.6%

TREE stock opened at $35.99 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. LendingTree has a 1-year low of $33.82 and a 1-year high of $62.49. The stock has a market cap of $487.12 million, a P/E ratio of -13.33 and a beta of 1.76.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.25. LendingTree had a positive return on equity of 0.51% and a negative net margin of 4.72%. The business had revenue of $239.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $244.93 million. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 42.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that LendingTree will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at LendingTree

In other LendingTree news, General Counsel Heather Enlow-Novitsky sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total value of $45,300.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 2,028 shares in the company, valued at $73,494.72. This represents a 38.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Scott Peyree bought 21,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $41.69 per share, for a total transaction of $877,366.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 76,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,124.40. The trade was a 37.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 23.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingTree

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TREE. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in LendingTree in the 1st quarter worth about $11,603,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in LendingTree by 2,074.7% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 107,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,185,000 after acquiring an additional 103,032 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in LendingTree by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 166,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,455,000 after acquiring an additional 93,244 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in LendingTree by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 131,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,092,000 after acquiring an additional 54,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in LendingTree by 199.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 64,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 42,647 shares during the last quarter. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LendingTree Company Profile

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.