Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.20.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LOB shares. Wall Street Zen raised Live Oak Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Live Oak Bancshares from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Live Oak Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th.

Live Oak Bancshares Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Live Oak Bancshares stock opened at $32.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.97. Live Oak Bancshares has a 52-week low of $22.68 and a 52-week high of $42.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.73.

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

Live Oak Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Live Oak Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.41%.

Insider Activity at Live Oak Bancshares

In related news, CFO Walter J. Phifer sold 4,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 10,103 shares in the company, valued at $369,567.74. This represents a 31.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Gregory W. Seward sold 3,000 shares of Live Oak Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.70, for a total value of $110,100.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 113,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,176,349.90. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 17,412 shares of company stock worth $660,862 over the last three months. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 60.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 157.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Live Oak Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Live Oak Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 138.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares during 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.