Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

LOB has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Live Oak Bancshares from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Live Oak Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.20.

Live Oak Bancshares Price Performance

NYSE:LOB opened at $31.79 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $37.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.59. Live Oak Bancshares has a 12 month low of $22.68 and a 12 month high of $42.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.32 and a beta of 1.97.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $161.86 million for the quarter.

Insider Activity at Live Oak Bancshares

In other news, CFO Walter J. Phifer sold 4,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.58, for a total transaction of $172,364.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,567.74. This trade represents a 31.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Gregory W. Seward sold 3,000 shares of Live Oak Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.70, for a total transaction of $110,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 113,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,176,349.90. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 17,412 shares of company stock worth $660,862 over the last three months. 23.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOB. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 60.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 157.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Live Oak Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Live Oak Bancshares by 138.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. 63.95% of the stock is 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.