Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOB) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.50.

Several research firms have commented on LOB. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $57.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Live Oak Bancshares from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Live Oak Bancshares Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ LOB opened at $39.60 on Thursday. Live Oak Bancshares has a 12 month low of $31.03 and a 12 month high of $50.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91 and a beta of 1.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $44.92 and its 200 day moving average is $42.40.

Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $241.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $126.63 million. Live Oak Bancshares had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 7.99%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Live Oak Bancshares will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Live Oak Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. Live Oak Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Henderson Cameron bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.76 per share, for a total transaction of $39,760.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 202,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,040,147.92. The trade was a 0.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO John W. Sutherland sold 12,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total transaction of $616,812.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,015 shares in the company, valued at $686,735. The trade was a 47.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 23.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Live Oak Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LOB. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 130.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 73,577 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,485,000 after buying an additional 41,662 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 773,724 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,658,000 after acquiring an additional 13,824 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $364,000. abrdn plc bought a new position in Live Oak Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $14,501,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,560,218 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,701,000 after purchasing an additional 15,496 shares during the period. 63.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.