Analysts Set LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) PT at $65.38

Shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $65.3750.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on TREE shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of LendingTree in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research cut shares of LendingTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of LendingTree from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of LendingTree from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd.

LendingTree Trading Down 0.6%

LendingTree stock opened at $59.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $807.12 million, a PE ratio of -14.60 and a beta of 1.71. LendingTree has a 12-month low of $33.50 and a 12-month high of $77.35.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LendingTree will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jason Bengel sold 6,469 shares of the firm’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Heather Enlow-Novitsky sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, 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 and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in LendingTree by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in LendingTree by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $886,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in LendingTree by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 23.7% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 4,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.