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

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Live Oak Bancshares from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Live Oak Bancshares from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Live Oak Bancshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.40.

Live Oak Bancshares Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of LOB stock opened at $38.62 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 1.86. Live Oak Bancshares has a 1 year low of $29.36 and a 1 year high of $44.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.31.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $156.15 million for the quarter. Live Oak Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.77% and a net margin of 12.68%. Analysts forecast that Live Oak Bancshares will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mark Michael Moroz sold 6,100 shares of Live Oak Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.08, for a total transaction of $256,688.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $509,588.80. The trade was a 33.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David G. Lucht sold 2,000 shares of Live Oak Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.36, for a total transaction of $88,720.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,623 shares in the company, valued at $604,316.28. This trade represents a 12.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,454 shares of company stock worth $1,526,341. Corporate insiders own 22.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp lifted its stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 38,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,323,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 16,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. 63.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Live Oak Bancshares

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.