Brokerages Set LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Target Price at $48.50

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.50.

Several research firms have weighed in on TREE. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on LendingTree from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on LendingTree from $40.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on LendingTree from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on LendingTree from $15.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th.

LendingTree Stock Performance

NASDAQ TREE opened at $42.18 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $558.04 million, a P/E ratio of -4.06 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.80, a current ratio of 3.71 and a quick ratio of 3.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.93. LendingTree has a 1-year low of $10.12 and a 1-year high of $52.76.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by $0.36. The company had revenue of $167.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.03 million. LendingTree had a positive return on equity of 1.34% and a negative net margin of 21.07%. As a group, analysts anticipate that LendingTree will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven Ozonian sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.31, for a total transaction of $71,339.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,784 shares in the company, valued at $300,599.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other LendingTree news, Director Steven Ozonian sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.31, for a total value of $71,339.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,784 shares in the company, valued at $300,599.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Trent Ziegler sold 8,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.30, for a total value of $431,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 5 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,802 shares of company stock worth $673,219 over the last 90 days. 23.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TREE. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 59.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 19,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 7,133 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 106.6% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 21,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 11,303 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 21.2% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 90,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 15,765 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 15.2% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 57,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 7,628 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of LendingTree in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,031,000. 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.