LendingClub Corporation (NYSE:LC) Receives $21.57 Average Target Price from Analysts

LendingClub Corporation (NYSE:LC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.5714.

LC has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of LendingClub from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Janney Montgomery Scott lifted their price target on shares of LendingClub from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on LendingClub from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on LendingClub from $18.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on LendingClub from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th.

LendingClub Stock Up 1.7%

LC opened at $20.71 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $18.85 and a 200 day moving average of $16.79. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53 and a beta of 2.08. LendingClub has a 52-week low of $7.90 and a 52-week high of $21.19.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $107.79 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that LendingClub will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LendingClub declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at LendingClub

In related news, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.29, for a total transaction of $578,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,210,070 shares in the company, valued at $23,342,250.30. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Erin Selleck sold 2,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.47, for a total value of $46,533.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 76,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,487,060.19. The trade was a 3.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 3.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LendingClub

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LC. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 7.4% during the second quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 10,232 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in LendingClub by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 23,482 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in LendingClub by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,354 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in LendingClub by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,051 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 5.3% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 25,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. 74.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LendingClub Company Profile

LendingClub Corporation operates an online lending marketplace that connects borrowers seeking personal and small business credit with individual and institutional investors. The platform leverages technology to streamline the loan application and underwriting process, offering unsecured personal loans, auto refinancing, and small business loans. In addition to lending products, LendingClub provides high-yield savings accounts and certificates of deposit through its banking charter, following its acquisition of Radius Bank in 2021.

Founded in 2006 by Renaud Laplanche, LendingClub pioneered peer-to-peer lending in the United States, helping to democratize access to credit and investment opportunities.