Renaissance Technologies LLC Raises Position in LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) by 25.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 292,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,500 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in LendingTree were worth $12,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TREE. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in LendingTree during the 2nd quarter worth $8,380,000. Blue Grotto Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LendingTree during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,930,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LendingTree by 53.9% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 256,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,868,000 after buying an additional 89,900 shares during the period. Alta Park Capital LP acquired a new stake in LendingTree in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,297,000. Finally, SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in LendingTree in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,196,000. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LendingTree Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TREE opened at $60.10 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $794.82 million, a P/E ratio of -5.79 and a beta of 2.12. LendingTree, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.12 and a twelve month high of $62.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.19). LendingTree had a negative net margin of 19.02% and a negative return on equity of 2.98%. The business had revenue of $210.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $187.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that LendingTree, Inc. will post -0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Northland Securities increased their target price on LendingTree from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on LendingTree from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on LendingTree from $56.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on LendingTree from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.13.

LendingTree 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.