Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on LOB. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $51.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.80.

Live Oak Bancshares Stock Performance

LOB stock opened at $41.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 1.88. Live Oak Bancshares has a one year low of $29.36 and a one year high of $43.85. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.63.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.10. Live Oak Bancshares had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 11.18%. The company had revenue of $156.15 million during the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that Live Oak Bancshares will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Live Oak Bancshares

In other news, insider Renato Derraik sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.83, for a total transaction of $2,837,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $160,512.69. The trade was a 94.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William L. Williams III sold 8,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.61, for a total value of $349,524.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,122,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,708,306.86. This represents a 0.74% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 91,800 shares of company stock valued at $3,523,194. Company insiders own 22.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $43,261,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,278,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 655.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 687,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,339,000 after acquiring an additional 596,841 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,181,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 366.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 519,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,313,000 after acquiring an additional 408,591 shares in the last quarter. 63.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.