Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on LOB. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Live Oak Bancshares from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Live Oak Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Live Oak Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.20.

Live Oak Bancshares Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:LOB opened at $31.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32 and a beta of 1.97. Live Oak Bancshares has a 1 year low of $22.68 and a 1 year high of $42.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.59.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.39. Live Oak Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 10.09%.The firm had revenue of $161.86 million for the quarter.

Live Oak Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. Live Oak Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Gregory W. Seward sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.70, for a total transaction of $110,100.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 113,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,176,349.90. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Courtney Spencer sold 9,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.01, for a total value of $378,397.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,491.60. This represents a 27.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 17,412 shares of company stock valued at $660,862 in the last three months. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Live Oak Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOB. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 60.1% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 157.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 138.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the period. 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.