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

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) had its target price boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

LC has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of LendingClub from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LendingClub in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Janney Montgomery Scott boosted their price objective on shares of LendingClub from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research lifted their price target on LendingClub from $18.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised LendingClub from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LendingClub presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.14.

LendingClub Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of LendingClub stock traded up $0.79 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 719,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,739,099. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.94. LendingClub has a 52 week low of $7.90 and a 52 week high of $19.88. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51 and a beta of 2.51.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. LendingClub had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 7.68%. The business had revenue of $266.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that LendingClub will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at LendingClub

In related news, CFO Andrew Labenne sold 20,903 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total transaction of $356,187.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 181,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,097,020. This represents a 10.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.65, for a total value of $499,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,270,070 shares in the company, valued at $21,146,665.50. The trade was a 2.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 113,293 shares of company stock worth $1,985,787 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of LendingClub during the first quarter worth about $16,329,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in LendingClub by 184.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,121,802 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375,002 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in LendingClub by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,167,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368,057 shares in the last quarter. Senvest Management LLC increased its holdings in LendingClub by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 5,881,290 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of LendingClub in the second quarter worth approximately $8,030,000. 74.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.