LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on TREE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on LendingTree from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Northland Securities upgraded LendingTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of LendingTree in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of LendingTree from $78.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LendingTree currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.75.

LendingTree Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TREE opened at $49.44 on Tuesday. LendingTree has a 1-year low of $33.58 and a 1-year high of $62.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.16. The firm has a market cap of $662.20 million, a PE ratio of -18.31 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Insider Activity at LendingTree

In other LendingTree news, COO Scott Peyree purchased 9,794 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.13 per share, with a total value of $451,797.22. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 97,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,500,719.58. This trade represents a 11.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TREE. Emerald Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of LendingTree by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 361,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,997,000 after buying an additional 4,831 shares in the last quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC grew its position in LendingTree by 4.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LendingTree by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 253,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 15,400 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of LendingTree by 15.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

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.