Brokerages Set LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Price Target at $72.50

Shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned 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 $74.00.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of LendingTree in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on LendingTree from $83.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded LendingTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on LendingTree from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday.

LendingTree Stock Performance

LendingTree stock opened at $42.90 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $586.44 million, a PE ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 2.21. LendingTree has a 12-month low of $32.65 and a 12-month high of $77.35. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $50.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.22.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The financial services provider reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($1.29). The company had revenue of $310.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $286.56 million. LendingTree had a net margin of 13.55% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that LendingTree will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TREE. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in LendingTree by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 11.4% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of LendingTree by 53.4% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 224,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,305,000 after purchasing an additional 78,012 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of LendingTree by 7.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 267,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,909,000 after purchasing an additional 18,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in LendingTree by 43.6% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 4,871 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

About LendingTree

LendingTree, Inc operates an online marketplace that connects consumers with a network of lenders and financial service providers. Through its platform, borrowers can compare loan offers for mortgages, home equity loans, personal loans, student loans, auto loans and small business financing. The company also offers tools for comparing credit cards and deposit accounts, allowing users to research rates and terms from a range of providers in one place.

Founded in 1996 by Doug Lebda, LendingTree pioneered the comparison-shopping model for consumer credit products.