Insider Selling: Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) General Counsel Sells 5,000 Shares of Company Stock

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) General Counsel Gregory Seward sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.31, for a total value of $176,550.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 108,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,841,622.07. The trade was a 4.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Live Oak Bancshares Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of LOB stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.59. The company had a trading volume of 473,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 270,361. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $37.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 1.94. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.36 and a 52 week high of $44.53.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.12). Live Oak Bancshares had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 11.56%. The company had revenue of $175.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.50 million. On average, research analysts predict that Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.92 EPS 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 4.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Live Oak Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Live Oak Bancshares from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Oak Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Live Oak Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 84.9% in the third quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 24,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 11,286 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 117.2% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 5.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 17,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the period. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 12.9% during the third quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 111,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,033,000 after purchasing an additional 12,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.95% of the company’s stock.

Live Oak Bancshares Company Profile

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc is the parent company of Live Oak Bank, a digital-focused financial institution headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 2008, the company specializes in providing banking services to small and mid-sized businesses, with a particular emphasis on loans to owners of professional and industry-specific businesses.

Through Live Oak Bank, the company offers commercial lending, Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, business deposits, treasury management and other financial services.