Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.20.

LOB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Live Oak Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Live Oak Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Live Oak Bancshares to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday.

Live Oak Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of LOB stock opened at $36.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.15. Live Oak Bancshares has a 52 week low of $23.41 and a 52 week high of $42.89.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $161.86 million during the quarter. Live Oak Bancshares had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 9.71%.

Live Oak Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Live Oak Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 5.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Live Oak Bancshares

In other Live Oak Bancshares news, General Counsel Gregory W. Seward sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.70, for a total value of $110,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 113,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,176,349.90. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ewa Maria Stasiowska acquired 2,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.53 per share, with a total value of $99,985.35. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 2,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,985.35. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,412 shares of company stock worth $660,862. 22.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Oak Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 205,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,253,000 after buying an additional 24,664 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,134,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 175,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,187,000 after buying an additional 49,644 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 53.6% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 153,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,562,000 after buying an additional 53,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 7,761.4% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 103,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,577,000 after buying an additional 101,752 shares in the last quarter. 63.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Live Oak Bancshares Company Profile

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.