LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• LendingTree, Inc. shares reached a new 52-week high of $74.15, closing at $73.74 with a trading volume of 131,058 shares.
• Analysts have raised their price targets on LendingTree, with Needham & Company suggesting a target of $70.00 and several firms giving the stock a "buy" or "strong-buy" rating.
• In the latest earnings report, LendingTree posted an EPS of $1.13 and revenue of $250.10 million, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a 19% increase in revenue year-over-year.

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $74.15 and last traded at $73.74, with a volume of 131058 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of LendingTree from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LendingTree from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $62.00 price objective on shares of LendingTree and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LendingTree has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $65.38.

LendingTree Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $59.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of -18.36 and a beta of 1.69.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $250.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $244.03 million. LendingTree had a negative net margin of 5.33% and a positive return on equity of 25.79%. LendingTree's revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that LendingTree, Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LendingTree news, CFO Jason Bengel sold 6,469 shares of LendingTree 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 directly owned 6,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $448,760.62. The trade was a 49.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diego A. Rodriguez sold 1,200 shares of LendingTree stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.78, for a total transaction of $83,736.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at $566,125.14. The trade was a 12.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,669 shares of company stock valued at $598,331. Company insiders own 23.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingTree

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TREE. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in LendingTree by 281.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in LendingTree by 4,509.1% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of LendingTree by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of LendingTree by 4,926.7% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,262 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.26% of the company's stock.

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.