Northland Securities Upgrades LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) to “Outperform”

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) was upgraded by research analysts at Northland Securities from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $60.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Northland Securities’ target price indicates a potential upside of 38.54% from the stock’s previous close.

TREE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of LendingTree from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of LendingTree from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of LendingTree from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on LendingTree from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LendingTree has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

LendingTree Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TREE opened at $43.31 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. LendingTree has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $62.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.86. The firm has a market cap of $578.62 million, a PE ratio of -16.04 and a beta of 2.06.

Insider Activity at LendingTree

In other LendingTree news, General Counsel Heather Enlow-Novitsky sold 564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.54, for a total transaction of $29,632.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Scott V. Totman purchased 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.59 per share, for a total transaction of $144,712.50. Following the purchase, the chief technology officer now directly owns 18,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,029.28. This trade represents a 25.97 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new stake in shares of LendingTree during the third quarter valued at about $3,651,000. Walleye Capital LLC increased its stake in LendingTree by 118.0% during the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 7,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 50,910 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of LendingTree during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,612,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of LendingTree in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,045,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 301.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 16,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

About LendingTree

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.