LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

TREE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Northland Capmk raised LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on LendingTree from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna boosted their target price on LendingTree from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on LendingTree from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on LendingTree from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LendingTree presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

LendingTree Stock Performance

TREE opened at $46.97 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.47 and its 200-day moving average is $48.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. LendingTree has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $62.49.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LendingTree news, CTO Scott V. Totman purchased 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $38.59 per share, for a total transaction of $144,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 18,192 shares in the company, valued at $702,029.28. This represents a 25.97 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas R. Lebda bought 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.72 per share, for a total transaction of $516,360.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 121,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,829,912.28. This trade represents a 11.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TREE. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new stake in LendingTree during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,651,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in LendingTree by 70.6% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 131,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,092,000 after purchasing an additional 54,368 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC raised its stake in LendingTree by 118.0% during the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 7,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 50,910 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in LendingTree by 199.2% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 64,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after purchasing an additional 42,647 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in shares of LendingTree by 97.0% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 81,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 40,038 shares during the last quarter. 68.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.