Pathfinder Wealth Consulting Inc. Purchases New Position in Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. $LOB

Key Points

• Pathfinder Wealth Consulting opened a new position in Live Oak Bancshares in the fourth quarter, buying 83,327 shares valued at about $2.86 million. The stake represents 1.8% of Pathfinder’s portfolio and about 0.18% of the company.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 63.95%, while insiders have been trimming holdings. Recent insider sales included General Counsel Gregory W. Seward and insider Renato Derraik, with insiders selling 82,712 shares over the last three months.
• Live Oak Bancshares reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $0.60 versus the $0.54 consensus, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share. Analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $44.40 price target.

Pathfinder Wealth Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 83,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,862,000. Live Oak Bancshares makes up 1.8% of Pathfinder Wealth Consulting Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Pathfinder Wealth Consulting Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Live Oak Bancshares as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LOB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,702,627 shares of the company's stock worth $92,835,000 after acquiring an additional 17,181 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,545,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,424,000 after purchasing an additional 5,046 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $43,261,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 655.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 687,885 shares of the company's stock worth $18,339,000 after purchasing an additional 596,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Live Oak Bancshares by 366.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 519,957 shares of the company's stock worth $18,313,000 after purchasing an additional 408,591 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Live Oak Bancshares

In other Live Oak Bancshares news, General Counsel Gregory W. Seward sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.70, for a total transaction of $110,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 113,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,176,349.90. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owned 4,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,512.69. This trade represents a 94.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 82,712 shares of company stock worth $3,119,715 in the last three months. 22.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Live Oak Bancshares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $51.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Live Oak Bancshares from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.40.

Live Oak Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of LOB stock opened at $37.26 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $35.31 and a 200 day moving average of $35.63. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.19 and a 1-year high of $42.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 1.92.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $145.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $146.02 million. Live Oak Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.18% and a net margin of 11.79%. Analysts anticipate that Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Live Oak Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be paid 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 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.

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