LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• LendingTree, Inc. has received an average recommendation of "Buy" from analysts, with nine ratings, including one hold, six buy, and two strong buy recommendations.
• Recent price target upgrades from analysts have set the twelve-month average price objective at $65.3750, with some analysts targeting up to $70.00.
• Insider transactions showed significant selling activity, with Director Diego A. Rodriguez and CFO Jason Bengel reducing their holdings by 12.89% and 49.82%, respectively, in August.

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $65.3750.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded LendingTree from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on LendingTree from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded LendingTree from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $62.00 target price on shares of LendingTree and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at LendingTree

In other news, Director Diego A. Rodriguez sold 1,200 shares of LendingTree stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.78, for a total value of $83,736.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $566,125.14. The trade was a 12.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jason Bengel sold 6,469 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.86, for a total value of $445,455.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 6,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $448,760.62. This trade represents a 49.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,669 shares of company stock valued at $598,331 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 23.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingTree

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of LendingTree by 1,747.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 546,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,260,000 after acquiring an additional 516,958 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of LendingTree in the first quarter worth $11,603,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in LendingTree in the second quarter valued at about $7,337,000. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC lifted its position in LendingTree by 69.0% during the second quarter. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC now owns 305,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,328,000 after purchasing an additional 124,806 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in LendingTree by 2,074.7% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 107,998 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,185,000 after buying an additional 103,032 shares in the last quarter. 68.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LendingTree Stock Performance

NASDAQ TREE opened at $72.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $988.27 million, a PE ratio of -17.87 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.70 and a 200-day moving average of $46.11. LendingTree has a 52-week low of $33.50 and a 52-week high of $74.15.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $250.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.03 million. LendingTree had a negative net margin of 5.33% and a positive return on equity of 25.79%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that LendingTree will post 0.48 EPS 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.

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