Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.20.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped 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, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Live Oak Bancshares from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th.

Insider Transactions at Live Oak Bancshares

In related news, insider Mark Michael Moroz sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.08, for a total value of $256,688.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,110 shares in the company, valued at $509,588.80. The trade was a 33.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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. Insiders sold 36,454 shares of company stock valued at $1,526,341 in the last 90 days. 22.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,643,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $128,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Live Oak Bancshares during the second quarter worth $9,394,000. Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the second quarter worth $2,935,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the second quarter worth $574,000. 63.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Live Oak Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LOB opened at $42.56 on Wednesday. Live Oak Bancshares has a one year low of $29.36 and a one year high of $44.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 1.87. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.36.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $156.15 million during the quarter. Live Oak Bancshares had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 11.77%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Live Oak Bancshares will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.