Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) Sets New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Live Oak Bancshares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $42.99 as investors continued to bid up the stock. It last traded at $42.8580, above the prior close of $42.19.
• Recent analyst commentary is mixed, but the consensus remains Hold with an average target price of $44.80. Some firms raised targets while others cut them, and the stock currently has two Buy ratings and four Hold ratings.
• The company posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, reporting $0.60 EPS versus the $0.54 estimate, while also paying a modest quarterly dividend of $0.03. Despite the strong price move, insiders have been selling shares in recent months.

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $42.99 and last traded at $42.8580, with a volume of 10840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Live Oak Bancshares from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Live Oak Bancshares from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $51.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.80.

Live Oak Bancshares Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average is $38.73 and its 200 day moving average is $37.37. The stock has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 1.88.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. Live Oak Bancshares had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 11.18%. The company had revenue of $145.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.02 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Live Oak Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.3%. Live Oak Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 4.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Renato Derraik sold 75,000 shares of Live Oak Bancshares 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 transaction, the insider owned 4,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at $160,512.69. The trade was a 94.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William L. Williams III sold 8,400 shares of the 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 directly owned 1,122,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,708,306.86. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 91,800 shares of company stock valued at $3,523,194. Company insiders own 22.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Live Oak Bancshares

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LOB. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Live Oak Bancshares by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 4,146 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 655.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 687,885 shares of the company's stock worth $18,339,000 after buying an additional 596,841 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 15.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 264,122 shares of the company's stock worth $7,041,000 after buying an additional 34,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the first quarter worth $1,758,000. 63.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Live Oak Bancshares Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.