Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.40.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen cut their target price on Live Oak Bancshares from $51.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Live Oak Bancshares from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Live Oak Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th.

Live Oak Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of LOB stock opened at $37.63 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 1.92. Live Oak Bancshares has a 12 month low of $26.77 and a 12 month high of $42.89.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. Live Oak Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.18% and a net margin of 11.79%.The company had revenue of $145.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.02 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Live Oak Bancshares will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Live Oak Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Live Oak Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 4.60%.

Insider Activity at Live Oak Bancshares

In other Live Oak Bancshares news, CFO Walter J. Phifer sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.58, for a total value of $172,364.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,567.74. This trade represents a 31.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Renato Derraik sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.83, for a total value of $2,837,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,243 shares in the company, valued at $160,512.69. The trade was a 94.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 82,712 shares of company stock worth $3,119,715 in the last 90 days. 22.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Live Oak Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LOB. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp grew its holdings in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Live Oak Bancshares by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 13,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 38,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,323,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Live Oak Bancshares by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.95% of the company’s stock.

About Live Oak Bancshares

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, and operates through its subsidiary Live Oak Banking Company. Founded in 2008, the company leverages a branchless, technology-driven platform to deliver specialty lending and deposit products across the United States. Live Oak Bancshares completed its initial public offering in February 2018 and trades on the NYSE under the ticker symbol LOB.

The company’s primary focus is on originating and servicing commercial loans for small businesses in select industry verticals.