Brokerages Set LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC) Price Target at $16.00

LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.00.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LC shares. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of LendingClub from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of LendingClub from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of LendingClub from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Maxim Group lifted their target price on LendingClub from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 target price (up previously from $14.00) on shares of LendingClub in a report on Monday, December 2nd.

LendingClub Stock Down 6.8 %

Shares of LC stock opened at $16.58 on Thursday. LendingClub has a 12-month low of $7.48 and a 12-month high of $18.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.95 and a 200-day moving average of $11.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.04 and a beta of 2.02.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. LendingClub had a return on equity of 4.02% and a net margin of 6.85%. The company had revenue of $201.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that LendingClub will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at LendingClub

In other LendingClub news, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.09, for a total transaction of $188,530.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,356,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,041,067.57. This trade represents a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John C. Morris sold 2,500 shares of LendingClub stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.36, for a total transaction of $35,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 203,348 shares in the company, valued at $2,920,077.28. This represents a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 75,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,073,100. 3.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingClub

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of LendingClub by 21.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 838,535 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,584,000 after acquiring an additional 148,685 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in LendingClub in the 3rd quarter valued at $237,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in shares of LendingClub by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 214,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 68,791 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of LendingClub by 153.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 158,763 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 96,053 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of LendingClub in the 3rd quarter worth about $411,000. 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.