Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) Trading Down 4.1% on Analyst Downgrade

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOB) dropped 4.1% during mid-day trading on Friday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $47.00 to $38.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Live Oak Bancshares traded as low as $32.88 and last traded at $32.88. Approximately 172,381 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average daily volume of 167,386 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.28.

LOB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of Live Oak Bancshares in a research report on Friday. TheStreet downgraded shares of Live Oak Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Live Oak Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.00.

Insider Transactions at Live Oak Bancshares

In other Live Oak Bancshares news, Director Miltom Emmett Petty sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.73, for a total transaction of $397,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 121,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,844,715.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Live Oak Bancshares news, insider Micah S. Davis sold 8,613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.87, for a total value of $343,400.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,748,857.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Miltom Emmett Petty sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.73, for a total transaction of $397,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 121,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,844,715.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 23.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Oak Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $1,285,000. Trust Co of the South purchased a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $15,042,000. CenterBook Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 41.3% during the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 137,966 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,994,000 after buying an additional 40,343 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Live Oak Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $994,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 1.4% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 197,185 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,708,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.95% of the company’s stock.

Live Oak Bancshares Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.36.

Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $119.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.36 million. Live Oak Bancshares had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 10.45%. Analysts predict that Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Live Oak Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 27th were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Live Oak Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.03%.

Live Oak Bancshares Company Profile

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.