Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.40.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Live Oak Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $51.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th.

Insider Activity at Live Oak Bancshares

In other Live Oak Bancshares news, insider Renato Derraik sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.83, for a total transaction of $2,837,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $160,512.69. This trade represents a 94.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 22.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Live Oak Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 75,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,484,000 after purchasing an additional 26,116 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 89,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,949,000 after purchasing an additional 3,038 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 53.2% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 29,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southernsun Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 1,033,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,179,000 after purchasing an additional 4,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.95% of the company’s stock.

Live Oak Bancshares Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE LOB opened at $37.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.89. Live Oak Bancshares has a 12 month low of $26.98 and a 12 month high of $42.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.95 and a 200-day moving average of $35.90.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $145.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.02 million. Live Oak Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.18% and a net margin of 11.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Live Oak Bancshares will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Live Oak Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

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.