LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of LendingTree from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on LendingTree from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Northland Securities upgraded LendingTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC reduced 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 shares of LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LendingTree currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.75.

LendingTree Stock Performance

TREE opened at $44.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $598.04 million, a P/E ratio of -16.54 and a beta of 1.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.10 and its 200-day moving average is $46.45. LendingTree has a 52-week low of $33.58 and a 52-week high of $62.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Insider Activity at LendingTree

In other LendingTree news, COO Scott Peyree bought 21,045 shares of LendingTree stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $41.69 per share, with a total value of $877,366.05. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 76,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,124.40. This trade represents a 37.77 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LendingTree

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TREE. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its stake in LendingTree by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 361,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,997,000 after buying an additional 4,831 shares in the last quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC now owns 301,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,694,000 after acquiring an additional 11,784 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in LendingTree by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 253,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in LendingTree by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 242,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,393,000 after acquiring an additional 15,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of LendingTree by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 204,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,940,000 after purchasing an additional 27,887 shares during the period. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by 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.