Freestone Grove Partners LP Acquires New Holdings in LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE)

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,585 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $410,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned 0.08% of LendingTree as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TREE. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of LendingTree during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in LendingTree by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in LendingTree during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co acquired a new position in LendingTree in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of LendingTree during the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LendingTree Price Performance

NASDAQ:TREE traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $37.53. 515,271 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 256,926. LendingTree, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.55 and a 1-year high of $62.49. The stock has a market cap of $507.97 million, a P/E ratio of -13.90 and a beta of 1.76. The firm's 50-day moving average is $46.84 and its 200-day moving average is $44.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.25. LendingTree had a negative net margin of 4.72% and a positive return on equity of 0.51%. The business had revenue of $239.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $244.93 million. LendingTree's quarterly revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that LendingTree, Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TREE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of LendingTree from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of LendingTree from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of LendingTree in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of LendingTree from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on LendingTree from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $64.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LendingTree news, COO Scott Peyree purchased 9,794 shares of LendingTree stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 97,566 shares in the company, valued at $4,500,719.58. This represents a 11.16 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 23.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.