Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Wall Street is cautious on LOB: Live Oak Bancshares has a consensus rating of Hold from six analysts, with four holds and two buys. The average 12-month price target is $44.80.
• Recent earnings topped expectations: The company reported $0.60 EPS, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54, while revenue came in at $145.47 million versus expectations of $146.02 million. Analysts now forecast full-year EPS of 2.97.
• Stock and insider activity remain notable: Shares closed at $42.44, near the 52-week high of $43.85, and the stock has a beta of 1.88. Insiders have sold shares recently, though institutional ownership remains high at 63.95%.

Shares of Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.80.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LOB shares. Weiss Ratings raised Live Oak Bancshares from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Live Oak Bancshares from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $51.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective 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.

Live Oak Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of LOB opened at $42.44 on Friday. Live Oak Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $29.36 and a fifty-two week high of $43.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 1.88.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $146.02 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Live Oak Bancshares will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Live Oak Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Live Oak Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 4.60%.

Insider Transactions at Live Oak Bancshares

In related news, insider Renato Derraik sold 75,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 4,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at $160,512.69. This represents a 94.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William L. Williams III sold 8,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.61, for a total transaction of $349,524.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,122,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,708,306.86. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 91,800 shares of company stock worth $3,523,194. Company insiders own 22.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Live Oak Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $43,261,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Live Oak Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,278,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 39.4% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 175,667 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,187,000 after buying an additional 49,644 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 160,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,520,000 after acquiring an additional 36,525 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,496,000. 63.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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