loanDepot (NYSE:LDI) Trading Down 4.5% Following Insider Selling

loanDepot, Inc. (NYSE:LDI)’s share price fell 4.5% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $2.90 and last traded at $2.8750. 350,851 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 3,657,812 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.01.

Specifically, CIO Jeffrey Michael Dergurahian sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.01, for a total transaction of $752,500.00. Following the sale, the executive owned 1,074,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,234,831.95. This represents a 18.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of loanDepot in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of loanDepot from $1.45 to $3.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of loanDepot from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on loanDepot from $1.90 to $3.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of loanDepot in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, loanDepot has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $3.00.

loanDepot Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $3.00 and its 200-day moving average is $2.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $921.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.68 and a beta of 3.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

loanDepot (NYSE:LDI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. loanDepot had a negative return on equity of 22.40% and a negative net margin of 6.46%.The firm had revenue of $325.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.20 million. On average, research analysts expect that loanDepot, Inc. will post -0.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of loanDepot by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 366,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 85,129 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in loanDepot by 1,671.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 655,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 618,153 shares during the period. Philosophy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in loanDepot by 73.3% during the first quarter. Philosophy Capital Management LLC now owns 4,141,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751,245 shares during the last quarter. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of loanDepot during the first quarter worth $1,469,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of loanDepot by 15.6% during the second quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 1,178,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 158,739 shares during the period. 39.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

loanDepot Company Profile

loanDepot, Inc engages in originating, financing, selling, and servicing residential mortgage loans in the United States. The company offers conventional agency-conforming and prime jumbo, federal assistance residential mortgage, and home equity loans. It also provides settlement services, which include captive title and escrow business; real estate services that cover captive real estate referral business; and insurance services, including services to homeowners, as well as other consumer insurance policies.