LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of LendingClub in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on LendingClub from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research raised LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Janney Montgomery Scott boosted their price objective on LendingClub from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on LendingClub from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.57.

LendingClub Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41 and a beta of 2.14. The business’s 50-day moving average is $17.11 and its 200-day moving average is $15.06.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $107.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.27 million. LendingClub had a net margin of 10.94% and a return on equity of 7.68%. The company’s revenue was up 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that LendingClub Corporation will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at LendingClub

In other LendingClub news, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 1,210,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,342,250.30. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Labenne sold 20,903 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 181,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,097,020. This represents a 10.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,293 shares of company stock worth $1,492,620. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in LendingClub by 8.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,004,943 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,371,000 after purchasing an additional 80,100 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of LendingClub by 11.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,230 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in LendingClub by 34.2% during the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 508,896 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,252,000 after acquiring an additional 129,786 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in LendingClub during the first quarter valued at approximately $348,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in LendingClub in the first quarter valued at approximately $16,329,000. 74.08% of the stock is currently 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.