Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.40.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LOB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research lowered Live Oak Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Live Oak Bancshares from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Live Oak Bancshares from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th.

Live Oak Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOB opened at $39.63 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 1.86. Live Oak Bancshares has a 1 year low of $29.36 and a 1 year high of $44.53.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $156.15 million for the quarter. Live Oak Bancshares had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 11.77%. Analysts predict that Live Oak Bancshares will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Live Oak Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Live Oak Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Live Oak Bancshares news, Director Willam Williams, III sold 1,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $72,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,112,316 shares in the company, valued at $44,492,640. The trade was a 0.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director David Lucht sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.36, for a total value of $88,720.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $604,316.28. This represents a 12.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 38,264 shares of company stock valued at $1,598,741 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 22.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Oak Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the second quarter worth $36,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Live Oak Bancshares by 671.6% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 138.9% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $128,000. 63.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.