LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $64.13.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on TREE shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LendingTree from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of LendingTree from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of LendingTree in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on LendingTree from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on LendingTree from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LendingTree news, COO Scott Peyree purchased 9,794 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.13 per share, with a total value of $451,797.22. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 97,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,500,719.58. This trade represents a 11.16% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Heather Enlow-Novitsky sold 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total value of $45,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 2,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,494.72. This trade represents a 38.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 23.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingTree

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 357,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,979,000 after acquiring an additional 14,644 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in LendingTree during the 1st quarter valued at about $349,000. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,712 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.26% of the company's stock.

LendingTree Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TREE traded down $0.33 during trading on Monday, reaching $34.69. 326,787 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 270,799. 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 fifty-two week low of $33.92 and a fifty-two week high of $62.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.97. The firm has a market cap of $469.53 million, a PE ratio of -12.85 and a beta of 1.76.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $244.93 million. LendingTree's revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that LendingTree will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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.