Short Interest in LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Decreases By 30.1%

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 217,900 shares, a drop of 30.1% from the September 15th total of 311,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 185,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingTree

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of LendingTree by 185.2% in the first quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 19,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 12,889 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of LendingTree by 697.5% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 12,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,049 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust grew its stake in shares of LendingTree by 9.3% during the second quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 280,731 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,676,000 after acquiring an additional 23,995 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in LendingTree by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,419,000 after purchasing an additional 22,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LendingTree by 53.9% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 256,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,868,000 after buying an additional 89,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.26% of the company's stock.

LendingTree Stock Up 5.6 %

TREE stock traded up $3.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.24. 123,429 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 138,808. LendingTree has a 1-year low of $10.12 and a 1-year high of $62.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $54.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.46.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.19). LendingTree had a negative return on equity of 2.98% and a negative net margin of 19.02%. The company had revenue of $210.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $187.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that LendingTree will post -0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TREE has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of LendingTree from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of LendingTree from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on LendingTree from $56.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Northland Securities boosted their target price on shares of LendingTree from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on LendingTree from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.13.

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.