LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

Several other research firms have also commented on TREE. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of LendingTree from $78.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of LendingTree in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on LendingTree from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.75.

LendingTree Price Performance

Shares of TREE opened at $42.29 on Tuesday. LendingTree has a 12 month low of $33.58 and a 12 month high of $62.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.34. The company has a market cap of $566.43 million, a P/E ratio of -15.66 and a beta of 1.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Scott Peyree acquired 9,794 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.13 per share, with a total value of $451,797.22. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 97,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,500,719.58. This represents a 11.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TREE. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of LendingTree by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 361,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,997,000 after purchasing an additional 4,831 shares in the last quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC now owns 301,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,694,000 after buying an additional 11,784 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in LendingTree by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 253,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,697,000 after buying an additional 2,595 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 242,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,393,000 after buying an additional 15,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of LendingTree by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 204,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,940,000 after acquiring an additional 27,887 shares during the last quarter. 68.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.