UBS Group AG Raises Stock Position in Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. $LOB

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Live Oak Bancshares by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 160,710 shares worth about $5.52 million.
• Live Oak Bancshares beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.60 EPS versus the $0.54 consensus estimate, while revenue came in slightly below forecasts.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, payable June 15, which annualizes to $0.12 per share for a 0.3% yield.

UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB - Free Report) by 29.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 160,710 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 36,525 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.35% of Live Oak Bancshares worth $5,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 60.1% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,364 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 138.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 111.2% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 6,170 shares of the company's stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,248 shares during the period. 63.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Live Oak Bancshares Stock Performance

LOB opened at $37.00 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $35.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.57. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $26.19 and a one year high of $42.89. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.92.

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

Live Oak Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 2nd. Live Oak Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Walter J. Phifer sold 4,712 shares of Live Oak Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.58, for a total transaction of $172,364.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,103 shares in the company, valued at $369,567.74. This trade represents a 31.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Renato Derraik sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $160,512.69. This trade represents a 94.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,712 shares of company stock valued at $3,119,715. 22.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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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