Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Stock

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) had its price target upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 8.48% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of LendingClub in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of LendingClub from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of LendingClub in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LendingClub in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of LendingClub from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

LendingClub Stock Up 1.0%

LC opened at $18.44 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $16.36 and a 200-day moving average of $13.27. The stock has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 2.48. LendingClub has a 52 week low of $7.90 and a 52 week high of $19.88.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The credit services provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.07. LendingClub had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The company had revenue of $266.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. LendingClub’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that LendingClub will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at LendingClub

In other LendingClub 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 transaction of $356,187.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 181,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,097,020. This trade represents a 10.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 30,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,210,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,342,250.30. This trade represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,248 shares of company stock valued at $2,284,738 in the last three months. 3.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in LendingClub during the first quarter worth $16,329,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of LendingClub by 184.1% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,121,802 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375,002 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of LendingClub by 36.0% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Senvest Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LendingClub by 23.5% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of LendingClub during the second quarter worth $8,030,000. 74.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.