Wall Street Zen Upgrades LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• LendingTree's stock rating has been upgraded from "buy" to "strong-buy" by analysts at Wall Street Zen, reflecting positive sentiment towards its performance.
• The company reported earnings of $1.13 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and marking a 19% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes, with Ameriprise Financial boosting its position by 1,747.8% in the second quarter, indicating strong institutional confidence in LendingTree's future.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on TREE. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on LendingTree from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial set a $62.00 price target on LendingTree and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.38.

LendingTree Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:TREE traded up $0.54 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.95. 188,454 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 349,913. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. LendingTree has a 1-year low of $33.50 and a 1-year high of $70.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.87. The firm has a market cap of $925.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.74 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Heather Enlow-Novitsky sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $69,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 1,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,075.92. This represents a 49.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jason Bengel sold 6,469 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.86, for a total value of $445,455.34. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,669 shares of company stock valued at $598,331. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TREE. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 281.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 826 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co bought a new stake in shares of LendingTree during the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of LendingTree by 806.4% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.26% of the company's stock.

About LendingTree

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.