Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) Shares Down 4.1% on Analyst Downgrade

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOB)’s share price traded down 4.1% during mid-day trading on Friday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $47.00 to $38.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Live Oak Bancshares traded as low as $32.88 and last traded at $32.88. 172,381 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 167,386 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.28.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on LOB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Live Oak Bancshares in a research note on Friday. TheStreet cut Live Oak Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Live Oak Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Live Oak Bancshares

In related news, insider Micah S. Davis sold 8,613 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.87, for a total value of $343,400.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,864 shares in the company, valued at $1,748,857.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Live Oak Bancshares news, Director Miltom Emmett Petty sold 10,000 shares of Live Oak Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.73, for a total value of $397,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 121,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,844,715.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Micah S. Davis sold 8,613 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.87, for a total transaction of $343,400.31. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,748,857.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 23.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Live Oak Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,509,008 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,160,000 after purchasing an additional 27,451 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,327,754 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,415,000 after purchasing an additional 61,029 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South bought a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,042,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 287,714 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,329,000 after buying an additional 4,470 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 259,231 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,795,000 after purchasing an additional 2,979 shares during the period. 63.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Live Oak Bancshares Trading Down 3.2 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $39.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 1.60.

Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $119.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.36 million. Live Oak Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 10.62%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Live Oak Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Live Oak Bancshares’s payout ratio is 6.03%.

Live Oak Bancshares Company Profile

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Live Oak Banking Company that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking and Fintech. The company accepts various deposit products, including noninterest-bearing demand, as well as interest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and time deposits.