Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $45.50

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.25.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Live Oak Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. 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 note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $49.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th.

Insider Activity at Live Oak Bancshares

In other news, Director William L. Williams III sold 8,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.08, for a total value of $361,872.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,114,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,996,548.08. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Tonya Bradford sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.89, for a total value of $63,824.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $320,835.27. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 29,654 shares of company stock valued at $1,240,814 over the last ninety days. 22.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Live Oak Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 98.9% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 671.6% in the 1st 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 period. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares in the second quarter worth $128,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares in the second quarter worth $266,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.95% of the company’s stock.

Live Oak Bancshares Price Performance

Live Oak Bancshares stock opened at $36.60 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.94. Live Oak Bancshares has a one year low of $29.36 and a one year high of $44.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.53.

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

Live Oak Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Live Oak Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 4.23%.

About Live Oak Bancshares

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. Through its principal subsidiary, Live Oak Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to small and middle-market businesses, professionals, entrepreneurs and individuals.

Live Oak Bank is known for its specialized lending model, including Small Business Administration (SBA) loans and financing for businesses in industries such as veterinary medicine, healthcare, agriculture, investment advisory and government contracting.