LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

LendingClub Corporation (NYSE:LC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $19.98 and last traded at $19.8750, with a volume of 806509 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $19.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $20.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of LendingClub in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on LendingClub from $18.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of LendingClub from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of LendingClub from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.57.

LendingClub Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 2.14. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.20.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 $107.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. LendingClub’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that LendingClub Corporation will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

LendingClub announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at LendingClub

In related news, CFO Andrew Labenne sold 20,903 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total value of $356,187.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 181,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,097,020. This trade represents a 10.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $23,342,250.30. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 83,293 shares of company stock worth $1,492,620. 3.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LendingClub

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

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.