LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Price Target Raised to $22.00

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target indicates a potential upside of 27.46% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on LC. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (up from $18.00) on shares of LendingClub in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LendingClub in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of LendingClub from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $17.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded LendingClub from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.83.

LendingClub Trading Down 4.1%

NYSE LC traded down $0.74 on Friday, hitting $17.26. 479,272 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,733,185. LendingClub has a 52 week low of $7.90 and a 52 week high of $19.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 2.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $16.66 and a 200-day moving average of $13.82.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $266.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.27 million. LendingClub had a return on equity of 7.68% and a net margin of 10.94%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that LendingClub will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

LendingClub declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Erin Selleck sold 2,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.82, for a total transaction of $40,199.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 73,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,244,461.34. This trade represents a 3.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Labenne sold 20,903 shares of LendingClub stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total transaction of $356,187.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 181,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,097,020. The trade was a 10.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,293 shares of company stock worth $1,985,787. 3.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in LendingClub during the first quarter valued at approximately $869,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in LendingClub by 8.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,004,943 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,371,000 after purchasing an additional 80,100 shares during the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new position in LendingClub during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $774,000. Invst LLC purchased a new stake in LendingClub in the first quarter worth $298,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of LendingClub by 72.9% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 40,864 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 17,224 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.08% of the company’s stock.

About LendingClub

LendingClub Corporation, operates as a bank holding company, that provides range of financial products and services in the United States. It offers deposit products, including savings accounts, checking accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides loan products, such as consumer loans comprising unsecured personal loans, secured auto refinance loans, and patient and education finance loans; and commercial loans, including small business loans.