Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Buys Shares of 22,344 LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 22,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $866,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.17% of LendingTree at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TREE. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of LendingTree in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of LendingTree by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 848 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of LendingTree during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co bought a new position in LendingTree during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in LendingTree during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LendingTree Trading Down 4.0%

TREE opened at $38.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $523.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.33 and a beta of 1.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $46.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.36. LendingTree, Inc. has a one year low of $34.55 and a one year high of $62.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $239.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.93 million. LendingTree had a positive return on equity of 0.51% and a negative net margin of 4.72%. The company’s revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that LendingTree, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of LendingTree in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on LendingTree from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on LendingTree from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on LendingTree from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Northland Capmk upgraded LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Scott Peyree bought 9,794 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 97,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,500,719.58. The trade was a 11.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 23.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.