Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $42.99 and last traded at $42.8580, with a volume of 10840 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LOB shares. 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. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $51.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.80.

Live Oak Bancshares Stock Up 2.8%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $38.73 and its 200-day moving average is $37.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 1.88.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $145.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.02 million. Live Oak Bancshares had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 11.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Live Oak Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. Live Oak Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Live Oak Bancshares

In related news, Director William L. Williams III sold 8,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.61, for a total value of $349,524.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,122,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,708,306.86. This trade represents a 0.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Renato Derraik sold 75,000 shares of Live Oak Bancshares 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 transaction, the insider owned 4,243 shares in the company, valued at $160,512.69. The trade was a 94.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 91,800 shares of company stock worth $3,523,194 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 22.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Oak Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,261,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Live Oak Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,278,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Live Oak Bancshares by 655.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 687,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,339,000 after buying an additional 596,841 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,181,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Live Oak Bancshares by 366.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 519,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,313,000 after buying an additional 408,591 shares during the period. 63.95% of the stock is 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.