Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $44.00 price objective (down from $48.00) on shares of Live Oak Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.75.

Live Oak Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:LOB opened at $26.55 on Friday. Live Oak Bancshares has a one year low of $26.34 and a one year high of $50.57. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.26 and a 200-day moving average of $40.15.

Live Oak Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Live Oak Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 8.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Oak Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Live Oak Bancshares by 98.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 99.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 15.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,364 shares of the bank’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.95% of the company’s stock.

About Live Oak Bancshares

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Live Oak Banking Company that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking and Fintech. The company accepts various deposit products, including noninterest-bearing demand, as well as interest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and time deposits.