Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Live Oak Bancshares shares gapped down on Monday, opening at $42.21 after closing at $43.69, and last traded near $42.06.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with several firms adjusting price targets but the overall consensus remaining “Hold”; MarketBeat reports an average target price of $44.80.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.60 per share versus estimates of $0.54, though revenue slightly missed expectations and insiders have also sold shares in recent months.

Shares of Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $43.69, but opened at $42.21. Live Oak Bancshares shares last traded at $42.0580, with a volume of 8,283 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Live Oak Bancshares from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Live Oak Bancshares from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.80.

Live Oak Bancshares Price Performance

The business's 50 day moving average is $38.94 and its 200 day moving average is $37.48. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 1.88.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $145.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.02 million. Live Oak Bancshares had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 11.18%. As a group, analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were issued 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 was Tuesday, June 2nd. Live Oak Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 4.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Live Oak Bancshares

In other news, 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 owned 1,122,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,708,306.86. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Renato Derraik sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.83, for a total value of $2,837,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,512.69. This represents a 94.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 91,800 shares of company stock worth $3,523,194 over the last three months. 22.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Live Oak Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOB. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 157.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 671.6% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,122 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,926 shares of the company's stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. 63.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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