LendingClub (NYSE:LC) Hits New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

LendingClub Co. (NYSE:LC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $14.62 and last traded at $14.47, with a volume of 351326 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.46.

The credit services provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $201.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.40 million. LendingClub had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LC. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of LendingClub from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of LendingClub from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $11.50 to $15.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of LendingClub from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com downgraded LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LendingClub from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LendingClub currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Scott Sanborn sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.36, for a total value of $193,120.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,373,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,600,381.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 51,703 shares of company stock worth $562,705 over the last quarter. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in LendingClub by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,270,308 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $98,502,000 after buying an additional 336,827 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in LendingClub in the first quarter worth about $164,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of LendingClub by 38.2% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 143,839 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 39,733 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 8.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 314,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after acquiring an additional 23,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of LendingClub by 1.0% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 216,360 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,902,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. 74.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LendingClub Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $11.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 35.76 and a beta of 2.04.

LendingClub Company Profile

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.