Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.20.

LOB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Live Oak Bancshares from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th.

Live Oak Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOB opened at $42.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 1.87. Live Oak Bancshares has a 1-year low of $29.36 and a 1-year high of $44.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.23.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.10. Live Oak Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.77% and a net margin of 12.68%.The firm had revenue of $156.15 million during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Live Oak Bancshares will post 3.07 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Live Oak Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 4.23%.

Insider Transactions at Live Oak Bancshares

In related news, insider Mark Michael Moroz sold 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $509,588.80. This trade represents a 33.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David G. Lucht sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.36, for a total transaction of $88,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,623 shares in the company, valued at $604,316.28. This represents a 12.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 36,454 shares of company stock valued at $1,526,341 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 22.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Live Oak Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LOB. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $22,278,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Live Oak Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $43,261,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 160,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,520,000 after purchasing an additional 36,525 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,496,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $4,955,000. 63.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.