Zacks Research Downgrades Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) to Hold

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Live Oak Bancshares from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. 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 note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Live Oak Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.40.

Live Oak Bancshares Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of LOB opened at $38.62 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 1.86. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.31. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $156.15 million for the quarter. Live Oak Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.77% and a net margin of 12.68%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Live Oak Bancshares will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Live Oak Bancshares news, insider Mark Michael Moroz sold 6,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.08, for a total value of $256,688.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,110 shares in the company, valued at $509,588.80. This represents a 33.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David G. Lucht sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,623 shares in the company, valued at $604,316.28. The trade was a 12.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,454 shares of company stock worth $1,526,341. Company insiders own 22.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Live Oak Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOB. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 28.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 4,146 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $18,339,000 after acquiring an additional 596,841 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Live Oak Bancshares by 15.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 264,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,041,000 after acquiring an additional 34,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at $1,758,000. Institutional investors own 63.95% of the company’s stock.

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.