Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOB) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.50.

LOB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $47.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Live Oak Bancshares in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $57.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th.

Live Oak Bancshares Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of Live Oak Bancshares stock opened at $42.26 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.73. Live Oak Bancshares has a 12-month low of $29.26 and a 12-month high of $50.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58 and a beta of 1.63.

Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). Live Oak Bancshares had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 7.99%. The business had revenue of $241.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $126.63 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Live Oak Bancshares will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Live Oak Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Live Oak Bancshares’s payout ratio is 7.55%.

Insider Activity at Live Oak Bancshares

In related news, CAO John W. Sutherland sold 20,000 shares of Live Oak Bancshares stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $860,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,143,929. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO John W. Sutherland sold 20,000 shares of Live Oak Bancshares stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $860,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,143,929. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William Henderson Cameron bought 1,000 shares of Live Oak Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.76 per share, for a total transaction of $39,760.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 202,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,040,147.92. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 23.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Oak Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOB. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in Live Oak Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth $18,628,000. abrdn plc acquired a new position in Live Oak Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth $14,501,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 12,211.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 252,994 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,870,000 after buying an additional 250,939 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 432.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,319,000 after buying an additional 53,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,402,516 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,169,000 after purchasing an additional 48,018 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.95% of the company’s stock.

Live Oak Bancshares Company Profile

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.