LendingClub Corporation (NYSE:LC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

LendingClub Corporation (NYSE:LC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.00.

LC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of LendingClub in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded LendingClub from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of LendingClub from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of LendingClub in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of LendingClub from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th.

LendingClub Trading Up 1.8%

LC opened at $17.25 on Tuesday. LendingClub has a 1-year low of $7.90 and a 1-year high of $21.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.45. The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 2.08.

LendingClub (NYSE:LC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. LendingClub had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 13.58%.The business had revenue of $266.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $262.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.08 earnings per share. LendingClub’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. LendingClub has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.650-1.800 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.340-0.390 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that LendingClub will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LendingClub announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Erin Selleck sold 2,390 shares of LendingClub stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,487,060.19. The trade was a 3.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LC. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LendingClub in the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. Legato Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in LendingClub by 160.5% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 98,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 60,955 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in LendingClub by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 230,440 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,365,000 after purchasing an additional 4,257 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in LendingClub by 1,435.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,040 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 2,842 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in LendingClub by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 20,704 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.08% of the company’s stock.

About LendingClub

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.