LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The credit services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $266.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $262.88 million. LendingClub had a return on equity of 7.68% and a net margin of 10.94%.

LendingClub Trading Down 5.9%

NYSE LC traded down $1.24 on Wednesday, hitting $19.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,863,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,876,767. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.20. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 2.08. LendingClub has a 52-week low of $7.90 and a 52-week high of $21.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Erin Selleck sold 2,390 shares of LendingClub stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.47, for a total value of $46,533.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 76,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,487,060.19. The trade was a 3.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LendingClub

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LC. Quarry LP lifted its stake in LendingClub by 343.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,030 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of LendingClub in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LendingClub in the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in LendingClub by 398.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 7,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 6,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LendingClub in the third quarter valued at about $132,000. Institutional investors own 74.08% of the company’s stock.

LendingClub declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded LendingClub from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of LendingClub from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of LendingClub from $18.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Janney Montgomery Scott increased their price target on LendingClub from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LendingClub in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LendingClub presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.57.

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.