LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $48.50.

Several research firms have recently commented on TREE. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on LendingTree from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of LendingTree from $25.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna upped their price objective on LendingTree from $15.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on LendingTree from $40.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th.

LendingTree Price Performance

Shares of TREE stock opened at $49.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 3.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.80. LendingTree has a 12-month low of $10.12 and a 12-month high of $51.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.52 and a 200-day moving average of $30.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $653.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.76 and a beta of 2.10.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.14. LendingTree had a positive return on equity of 1.34% and a negative net margin of 21.07%. The firm had revenue of $134.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.53) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LendingTree will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingTree

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in LendingTree by 0.9% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 345,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,352,000 after acquiring an additional 2,952 shares during the last quarter. Shenkman Capital Management Inc. grew its position in LendingTree by 186.2% in the fourth quarter. Shenkman Capital Management Inc. now owns 343,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,413,000 after acquiring an additional 223,440 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in LendingTree by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 227,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,892,000 after acquiring an additional 11,753 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of LendingTree by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 189,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,943,000 after purchasing an additional 39,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Grotto Capital LLC bought a new position in LendingTree in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,930,000. 68.26% of the stock is 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.