Legal & General Group Plc Makes New $1.48 Million Investment in Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. $LOB

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 36,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,480,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the second quarter worth approximately $11,563,000. Algert Global LLC grew its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 61.6% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 586,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,939,000 after purchasing an additional 223,487 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Live Oak Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in Live Oak Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $55,546,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $332,000. 63.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Live Oak Bancshares Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of LOB opened at $39.63 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.61 and its 200-day moving average is $38.30. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.36 and a 12 month high of $44.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 1.86.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Live Oak Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Live Oak Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research downgraded Live Oak Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Live Oak Bancshares from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Mark Moroz sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.08, for a total value of $256,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 12,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $509,588.80. The trade was a 33.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director William L. Williams III sold 1,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $72,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,112,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,492,640. The trade was a 0.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 38,264 shares of company stock valued at $1,598,741 over the last quarter. Insiders own 22.40% of the company’s stock.

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.