LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $65.75.

TREE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of LendingTree in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on LendingTree from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com upgraded LendingTree from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on LendingTree from $78.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Northland Capmk upgraded LendingTree from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LendingTree news, COO Scott Peyree purchased 21,045 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $41.69 per share, for a total transaction of $877,366.05. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 76,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,200,124.40. This represents a 37.77 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Institutional Trading of LendingTree

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TREE. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in LendingTree by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 35,218 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,044,000 after buying an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 20,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 6,727 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 21,728 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 5,072 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 16,726 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LendingTree during the 3rd quarter worth about $247,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.26% of the company's stock.

LendingTree Stock Performance

NASDAQ TREE traded up $0.29 on Wednesday, hitting $51.68. 219,793 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 230,804. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $44.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.15. LendingTree has a fifty-two week low of $33.58 and a fifty-two week high of $62.49. The firm has a market cap of $692.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.14 and a beta of 2.14.

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.