LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) Shares Up 9.4% – Here’s Why

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE)’s stock price shot up 9.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $44.38 and last traded at $45.02. Approximately 131,853 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 230,552 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on TREE shares. Northland Securities raised LendingTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of LendingTree from $78.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of LendingTree from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of LendingTree in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.75.

LendingTree Stock Up 11.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $612.38 million, a PE ratio of -16.97 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $42.50 and its 200 day moving average is $47.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of LendingTree in the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in LendingTree in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,612,000. Intellectus Partners LLC grew its position in shares of LendingTree by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 19,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 7,125 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 5.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 35,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 48.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 20,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 6,727 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.