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

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on LendingTree from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Northland Securities upgraded shares of LendingTree from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on LendingTree from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna upped their price target on LendingTree from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on LendingTree from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.00.

LendingTree Price Performance

LendingTree stock traded down $2.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.93. The company had a trading volume of 165,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 243,658. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.77. The company has a market cap of $600.35 million, a P/E ratio of -16.64 and a beta of 2.06. LendingTree has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $62.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67.

Insider Activity

In other LendingTree news, CEO Douglas R. Lebda acquired 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.72 per share, with a total value of $516,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 121,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,829,912.28. This represents a 11.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Heather Enlow-Novitsky sold 564 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.54, for a total transaction of $29,632.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LendingTree

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in LendingTree by 30.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 17,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 124.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 11,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 6,467 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in LendingTree by 4.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 71,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,898,000 after buying an additional 2,707 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in LendingTree by 262.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 1,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new stake in LendingTree in the third quarter worth about $356,000. 68.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.