Live Oak Bancshares' (LOB) Market Perform Rating Reiterated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods have reaffirmed a "market perform" rating for Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ: LOB) and raised their target price to $37.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.92% from the previous close.
• Conversely, Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a "hold" to a "sell" rating on March 28th.
• Recent transactions show Director William Henderson Cameron acquired 5,000 shares at an average price of $25.92, increasing his stake in the company significantly.
• Approximately 63.95% of Live Oak Bancshares' stock is held by hedge funds and institutional investors, indicating strong support from larger investment entities.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued their market perform rating on shares of Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $37.00 price target on the bank's stock, up from their previous price target of $36.00.

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Live Oak Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th.

Live Oak Bancshares Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of LOB traded down $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 62,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,922. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05 and a beta of 1.84. Live Oak Bancshares has a 1-year low of $22.68 and a 1-year high of $50.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.94.

Live Oak Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Live Oak Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 9.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Live Oak Bancshares

In other news, Director William Henderson Cameron bought 5,000 shares of Live Oak Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.92 per share, with a total value of $129,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,904 shares in the company, valued at $308,551.68. This trade represents a 72.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 23.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LOB. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 1.0% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,484,524 shares of the bank's stock valued at $172,878,000 after acquiring an additional 65,038 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,657,737 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,855,000 after purchasing an additional 26,481 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,041,706 shares of the bank's stock worth $80,749,000 after acquiring an additional 880,530 shares during the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 796,720 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,510,000 after acquiring an additional 74,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 655.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 687,885 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,339,000 after buying an additional 596,841 shares in the last quarter. 63.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Live Oak Bancshares

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.